Bottas now itching for F1 race return following Mercedes protocol run out

Valtteri Bottas now "can't wait" for the Formula 1 season to begin after returning to the track at Silverstone on Tuesday.

Mercedes became the first F1 team to return to action since pre-season testing in February, albeit primarily to allow the team personnel the opportunity to adapt to the new health and safety protocols introduced to protect from Covid-19.

"It was a pretty helpful day for the team," said Bottas.

"Obviously, everyone being out from racing and the garage environment for a long time and there are many new regulations, and we need to be cautious with different things for health, so it was good to practice that.

"I think we learned a lot during the day. How to do things more efficiently, and make sure that everyone is going to be safe when we eventually start racing."

Bottas drove the 2018 W09 car as teams are only permitted to run cars that are at least two years old.

During the day, personnel wore protective face masks, while those who needed to get particularly close to the Finn, when strapping him into the car, for example, wore full-face shields.

Bottas added: "Obviously, I loved to be back in the car, and now I can't wait for Austria to get back racing again very soon."

Lewis Hamilton will experience the new regulations and procedures for the first time on Wednesday, while Ferrari are also set to complete a similar procedural check at Fiorano.

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