Bottas explains why overtaking will be easier in 2019

Valtteri Bottas has joined a growing number of drivers who think overtaking will be easier in 2019. Initially, there was great scepticism about the changes to the front wing rules for this year, indeed Red Bull denounced it as a waste of €15 million per team.

But some drivers, including Daniel Ricciardo and Kevin Magnussen, have reported positive findings after following rival cars during winter testing in Barcelona.

And Mercedes' Bottas says: "You can feel there is more drag, and that alone improves slipstreaming because the guy in front is creating a bigger hole in the air.

"Everyone is talking about the front wing, and I also have the impression that it has become a little easier to follow a car.

"But I think the bigger effect will be the (larger) DRS. All in all, I think overtaking will be easier.

"If you follow now, the car feels more stable and the handling is more predictable. We are moving in the right direction.

"People also thought the new aerodynamics would slow us down, but I don't believe that either."

Bottas ended pre-season third fastest behind teammate Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel, who put Ferrari fastest by 0.003 seconds.

He said: "We've used our time on track efficiently, learning a lot and improving our performance over the past two weeks.

"We've also learned that the competition is going to be very, very tough this year, but we're looking forward to the challenge.

"We need to keep pushing and find more performance if we want to be competitive in Melbourne, but we have a strong team and have made good progress in the last days."

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