Valtteri Bottas has praised the removal of the final chicane at the Circuit de Barcelona- Catalunya but believes it is not a silver bullet for better racing at the Spanish Grand Prix.
The final chicane has received consistent criticism since 2007, when it was introduced, for being slow and not hindering overtaking opportunities down to Turn 1.
But from 2023 onwards, the slow left-right hander will be removed marking the second change to the circuit layout in three years.
“I prefer it, I never liked the chicane anyway,” Bottas said to the media. “I don’t think it’s going to make a huge difference in terms of overtaking.
“It’s not going to be easy to follow there but it was never easy to follow through the chicane anyway. But maybe it will be a bit more tricky for the tyres, especially the front-left.”
The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya has long been used as a testing venue for Formula 1 due to its mixture of corners and sunny weather.
Part of the reason why Bottas feels as though it won’t improve the racing is that the drivers and teams know the circuit.
“Every driver knows this track so well, and actually as a driver it’s quite difficult to make a difference because everyone knows it so well.”
“I’ve done millions of laps here with testing and in the simulator so it’s about the car a lot actually.”
