Last Friday, Toyota surprised the paddock with photos showing Valtteri Bottas alongside Tommi M\u00e4kinen and at the wheel of his Yaris WRC. Two days later, the Finn posted an onboard video of his test session.<\/p>\n
Asked about the subject in the Hockenheim paddock, the Mercedes driver explained this high-speed outing: \u00ab It’s always a good thing to try out cars in different conditions. It allows us to experience different types of car reactions, surfaces. If I did it, it was primarily because it was super fun, but also because it brings benefits to driving. \u00bb<\/p>\n
He specified that he had the team’s approval beforehand to undertake such outings and that they had no objections. He playfully pointed out that he returned in one piece and was ready to tackle F1. He didn’t miss the opportunity to highlight, with a broad smile, that the team told him he had the same pace as Kris Meeke on that stage. Not too bad for a first outing on gravel!<\/p>\n
Valtteri Bottas also emphasized that it was indeed a unique appearance, without any ulterior motives or attempts at short-term career change: \u00ab Since always, I live only for F1. I still have a lot to accomplish in this sport. \u00bb He insisted on clarifying that the 39-point difference between him and Lewis Hamilton is not yet insurmountable and that he would do everything to close the gap by the end of the season.<\/p>\n
In this context, a question about his future was bound to be raised since he has not yet been confirmed for next season. Last year, Mercedes took advantage of its home race to confirm its two drivers, but that shouldn’t be the case this season: \u00ab We discussed it a few weeks ago, but I don’t think there will be any news this weekend. The gap with Lewis is relatively small. So be patient! \u00bb<\/p>\n
From our special correspondent in Hockenheim<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Valtteri Bottas tried his hand at rallying behind the wheel of a Yaris WRC. But his goal remains to win in F1.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":37447,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,1749],"tags":[961,1052,1647],"class_list":["post-9977","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-f1","category-news","tag-mercedes","tag-moteur-toyota","tag-bottas"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n