Valtteri Bottas announces priority shift over F1 driver complaints

Valtteri Bottas has outlined he is enjoying the challenge of the new F1 cars despite the various complaints from his peers.

The Finn asserted his primary emotion is being happy to be back in an F1 cockpit after a year on the sidelines in 2025.

Bottas returned to the sport this year with newcomer Cadillac, having spent last year's campaign as a reserve driver for Mercedes.

His comeback to the sport coincided with a major F1 regulation change that has left many drivers unhappy due to the increase in energy management that is required.

But Bottas has countered with his perspective, insisting complaints are natural when a regulation change is so fresh.

“It's different,” Bottas told media including RacingNews365. 

“Always when there's a change, initially for the first quarter, always, somebody complains. 

“But I think we're now starting to get used to it, and we're still trying to optimise everything with the PU. But it's certainly different. 

“There's more thinking to do as a driver. There are more things that can go wrong with the deployment, whether it's about qualifying or the race.

“But that's the same for everybody.”

Having tasted life away from the sport, Bottas is grateful for being enstrusted once again with a full-time race drive.

“For me overwhelming thing is or the overriding thing is, I'm just really happy to be back, happy to be racing in F1,” he said.

“I don't see any reason to complain. It is different, but I'm enjoying the car. 

“The cars are fun to drive, the racing has been good. You might need to manage a bit more here and there, but it's just different.”