• Belgian Grand Prix - FP1

Bottas happy to get wet experience

ESPN Staff
August 31, 2012 « Alonso 'punched above his weight' - Horner | Di Resta positive despite disjointed season »
Valtteri Bottas was eighth quickest in the wet morning session © Sutton Images
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Valtteri Bottas said that he was pleased to get experience in a Formula One car in the wet despite the limited running he is able to do.

The first session at Spa was run in the rain, but Bottas' 16 laps in FP1 was still four times more than anyone managed in the afternoon. While many drivers lamented the lack of running that was possible on Friday, Bottas said he is pleased with any track time he can get for Williams.

"I think every kilometre with this car even whatever conditions it is I'm always learning at the moment," Bottas said. "It was nice to experience Spa even though it was wet, but still it was really challenging too.

"We have a lot of time to get some running in no matter what the weather is, but then I have to take care when the weather is like today to bring the car back in one piece."

Bottas did admit that he's been surprised by how many of his sessions have been affected by rain, but felt he was fortunate to get any laps at Spa.

"I think I've been a little bit unlucky, because on most of the weekends there has been a little bit of rain on Fridays. But then we still got some laps in every session, and if you look today the second practice session was even worse than the first one so in the end I was a little bit lucky."

With his hopes pinned on a race seat with Williams in 2013, Bottas said he was eager to know his fate but that no discussions had taken place during the summer.

"[The end of the season] is getting closer and closer for sure, but it's still a bit too early to say anything about next year … it's really difficult to say when. I hope it will be as soon as possible, but it's not going to be for the next one or two races I think."

Bottas added that the condensed nature of the rest of the season would help him prepare for any potential future drive.

"It helps always for me in my situation because I'm not getting many laps so the closer the races are the better it is for me to keep the feeling of driving. So I'm definitely looking forward to it, and also to see how it is with the travelling, with the jetlag and everything."

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