Bottas: Playing the long game at Williams

Valtteri Bottas stands in a privileged position heading into the 2012 Formula 1 season. While for some the third driver role may be a bit of a misnomer, the 22-year-old Finn enters the season knowing that he will drive on 15 Fridays - roughly three quarters of the year's events, give or take a Bahrain Grand Prix. It is, as he admits, the perfect opportunity.

The role of the third driver has been subverted in recent years by the ban on in-season testing, making almost obsolete the role drivers like Alex Wurz, Olivier Panis and Pedro de la Rosa previously enjoyed.

As well as reducing the number of quality drivers therefore involved in Formula 1, the lack of testing also provides fewer chances for young drivers to acclimatise and develop. Where Lewis Hamilton racked up more than 3000 miles before he turned a wheel in anger, Bruno Senna was a testing virgin - save for a day and a half with Honda in 2008 - when he made his race debut for HRT.

Of course there are still examples of those who have trodden the path from third driver to full-time seat. One need only look at Force India, for example, with both Paul di Resta and Nico Hulkenberg making the graduation after serving time in the reserve ranks. Jerome d'Ambrosio too landed a Virgin seat after playing understudy during the team's maiden season.

Bottas claimed the GP3 crown at his first attempt last year © LAT

There is a risk, however, that such examples become the minority. When Robert Kubica was injured in 2011, Renault's roster of reserve drivers included Senna, Romain Grosjean, Fairuz Fauzy, Ho-Pin Tung and Jan Charouz. Not one was selected as a replacement, with the team opting for Nick Heidfeld instead.

It is against such examples that the role of Bottas at Williams should be measured, but a guarantee of 15 Friday sessions, all of them in FP1 and in Senna's car, means he will already gain far more than team kit and a line on the CV during the 2012 season. On top of being an excellent opportunity, the running time is also a decent barometer of just how highly Bottas is regarded within the Williams stable. The trick, though, will be to make the most of the occasion. As a test driver, that doesn't always mean chasing lap times...

"This is exactly what I need at the moment - the experience of F1 and everything that comes with it," Bottas says of his deal. "This is the best a young driver can get these days because there is not much testing. I get 15 Fridays and some testing on top. It's the perfect chance for me to really prove I can do this job, get everything out of the car, give good feedback, make consistent runs and show that I am able to work with a team in F1.

"I will be there as part of the process of trying to getting everything out of the car on a race weekend, and it will be good to learn how everything works. As a driver, there is so much information in Formula 1 - so much - so it's good to understand more about the technical side. It takes time for you to get all those things and get a good understanding of everything - and I have that opportunity here.

"It's difficult to say what the most important part of my role is, because there is so much to learn. Of course as I get mileage I need to improve my driving, and learn about the team. I also need to contribute to set-up changes, and the main thing is to make sure we go in the right direction. The worst case is that you make some changes and the direction is not correct. To avoid that you need to know the team really well, and need to have a good understanding with the engineers."

Building such relationships will not only be advantageous in the short term. As Grosjean attested at the recent Jerez test, knowing the team before stepping up to a race drive can help smooth the transition immensely.

He's getting 15 Friday sessions at GPs this year and tested at Barcelona © LAT

"It's good to know every guy in the garage," Bottas admits. "I've already been with the team quite a while, so I know many of the people. That is important, because it is a team and you have to work together. It's not just the driver who appears and drives the car on a race weekend. Relationships are important with every engineer and mechanic."

The Finn's position does not come without some form of trade-off though. For the reigning GP3 champion, and a title winner in various Formula Renault disciplines before that, 2012 will be the first time the Finn will not compete in a championship since the age of six.

"Of course I'd love to race - I've been racing all my life - since six years old," he laughs. "We were looking at different options like Formula Renault 3.5, but in the end my management, Williams and I decided it would be too full a programme.

"I think this is the best decision because now we can fully focus on F1, and not worry about driving other cars. Sure it's not a bad thing to be the winner of the last category you raced in, but I don't think that's a big issue. In the end I think one year will not make a big difference; the skill of operating cars will not go away in one year. There's so many new things to concentrate on I don't really see I need a race programme; I'm sure I will be busy enough."

With no racing to focus on, or be distracted by, how does a driver's focus change?

"I think for me on Fridays the important thing will be the consistency and the feedback, so what I can give out of the car," he explains. "I just need to make sure we get everything out of FP1, and as a team we need to make sure it's not just a waste of time.

"I know the goals the team has set me, and I'm there to help improve the car. The goal [on Wednesday in Barcelona] was to be consistent and for me to give good feedback about the car and not make any mistakes and that worked well."

Of course, dangling over all of his running this year will be the considerable carrot of a potential race drive. Bottas is keen to avoid talking about the prospect in too much detail - particularly as the supply-and-demand curve dictates that for him to land a seat, someone else must lose it.

Gillan has his plan for Bottas all mapped out © LAT

"Of course I would like to get the race seat at some point," he concedes, "but that's pretty normal for a young driver. But when is it going to happen? I don't know. I hope as soon as possible, but I don't want to think too much about that now, I just want to prepare myself as much as possible this year and get everything out of the opportunity I have this year with Williams."

Much of what he can get out of the season will be determined by his own feedback and inputs. But he also will have to work closely, and positively, with Senna, for whom he will exclusively deputise on his Friday runs. Given that the pair could be rivals for a drive at the end of the year, does that bring any added complications?

"So far [it] has been really good, he is a nice guy," Bottas says of the Brazilian. "We have a good understanding and for sure this season we are going to work quite closely together because I am driving his car on Friday, and he wants to know what the car is doing in FP1 so we can get it better. I will have a direct impact on set-up, but the point is to make the car better for Bruno for FP2. So far I think our comments have been pretty similar, and I think our driving style is not that far away.

"There are also positives for sure [about Williams's 2012 challenger, the FW34]. There is a difference in the car, and it's definitely not the same as last year. I enjoy driving it. There has been talk about slow-speed corners; I think that is one area where we need to focus. It's not the only place but it is one area we need to work on. The car has a good potential and I think we are getting to understand more and more about the car - and I'm here to help that."

It will take a mature head, especially on such young shoulders, to stick to the task and not be tempted to try and show a flash of speed.

But as Mark Gillan, chief operations engineer at Williams, confirms, that is exactly what the team is looking for.

"With Valtteri we effectively gave him a Friday FP1 session - exactly what he would see and what we will rely on him to deliver on Fridays," Gillan explains. "That is: an understanding of the car, its evolution through the session and a match to our other driver. He understands that and is getting into that role. We need to understand where he sits relative to our other two drivers in an FP1 session."

For now, the Finn is playing the long game, where his best chance of impressing is to be simple and precise. If he can manage that, he may just be able to buck the trend and add his name to the list of those who have trodden the path from reserve driver to race seat.