£150k-a-week F1 driver notorious for delivering feedback of the ‘highest level’

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The level of feedback a driver can give his engineers can be the difference between scoring points and missing out, reaching the final session of qualifying or going out in Q2 or even a race win and finishing second place.

That level of information only comes with experience and is something young drivers tend to look up to their senior teammates to identify what’s useful and what isn’t.

Writing on Formula 1’s website, journalist Lawrence Barretto has said that one driver is particularly good at recognising what needs to be done.

Information key to development in Formula 1

Formula 1 teams have less and less time before the season starts to shakedown the car and discover what they’ve done well over the winter and what needs improving.

They enjoyed just three days of pre-season testing in Bahrain before the first race of the season in 2024.

However, we’re now in the third year of the current regulations which means teams should be getting to grips with what’s quick and what’s not.

Unfortunately, some teams appear to have gone in the wrong direction this year, with Alpine’s car looking particularly difficult to drive.

There’s also a worry further up the grid for Mercedes who don’t seem to be making any progress.

The gap between the top five teams and the bottom five teams on the grid in 2024 appears to have grown, making the point Haas scored in Saudi Arabia potentially very important.

Sauber have got off to a tough start, but in Valtteri Bottas, they have a driver synonymous with giving his engineers brilliant feedback.

The £150,000-a-week Finn has more than 220 Grand Prix to his name and has worked with some of the best drivers and engineers in the sport.

That makes him a valuable asset and in a year where there’s so much uncertainty in the driver’s market, that could work in his favour.

Sauber star Valtteri Bottas known for giving ‘highest level’ of feedback

Speaking about the 34-year-old, Barretto said: “Ask those who work with him closely at the team and they’ll tell you that the Finn’s feedback is at the highest level and when he gets behind the wheel, they feel like more often than not, he’s getting the most out of the car, which in turn helps the engineers to understand the package and set-up better.”

Sauber – formally known as Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber – will soon become Audi and that presents a challenge and an opportunity for Bottas.

The Finn has admitted that the ‘ideal’ solution for him is to extend his contract with the Swiss team before it expires at the end of the season.

After spending years dealing with a rolling one-year contract at Mercedes, Sauber offered him three years of stability but that could come to an end in 2024.

However, Audi are eyeing most of the grid at the moment, with Andreas Seidl a big fan of Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg.

Carlos Sainz is also on their radar, while Eddie Jordan even suggested that Oscar Piastri could be a long-term option for the German manufacturer.

Bottas does provide a lot of benefits for Sauber – including his excellent feedback – but currently, he’s not delivering the performances on track that he needs to.

However, a new team is likely to have a lot of teething problems and Bottas could argue he’s the right man to help them work out those problems.