The paddock has landed in Saudi Arabia for the much-awaited Jeddah Grand Prix. The teams are looking forward to fielding their cars on this lighting fast circuit. Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas got the first taste of the circuit and he seems to love the swiftly curated track.

The penultimate race of the season will be an exciting one. Needless to say, the championship is all set to go down to the wire with the two protagonists separated by just eight points. Bottas, along with his teammate and title contender Lewis Hamilton, looked quick during the free practice session.

Valtteri Bottas is enjoying the new track

The long Jeddah circuit under lights will be an exciting one to drive on and the drivers are already putting a stamp on that. The FP1 was a good one for the Brackley team with Hamilton recording the fastest lap time after switching to softs later on in the session. Next to him, Verstappen came in half a tenths slower to Lewis. Valtteri Bottas came in third and was two-tenths quicker than Gasly in 4th.

However, the Finn could be heard admitting on the team radio that he was pleased with the track “F*** this track is cool,” said Bottas to his engineer midway through the session.

Valtteri’s plans for Saudi Arabia GP

Before going into this highly intense weekend, the Mercedes driver was clear with his thought process. The Finn suffered a late puncture in Qatar costing him a top 5 finish. Meanwhile, Red Bull bridged the gap in constructors’ standings with a decent finish. Bottas is pivotal for Mercedes if they want to clinch double titles.

In the FIA drivers’ press conference, he made it clear that the aim is to stay out of trouble at the new circuit. “So trying to have a strong clean weekend as a team without any issues and hopefully with a big amount of points and that one to Abu Dhabi. That’s the optimal outcome from this weekend, and try to stay out of trouble.”

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He outlined the fact that the new circuit brings different challenges with it. He believes it can get a bit messy at times and adapting to it is the key. Nevertheless, the Silver Arrows will be looking to pull off a clinical performance here in Jeddah.

Read More- Saudi Arabian GP FP1 Report: Hamilton Breaks Ground at Jeddah Circuit With Flying Mercedes Machine