Bottas thrilled by "adrenaline rush" of "hardcore" Jeddah

Valtteri Bottas was full of praise for the Jeddah Corniche Circuit after finishing the first day of running at the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix second fastest to team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

The track has been labelled the fastest street track in F1 with average speeds bettered only by Monza on the current calendar, with many drivers rallying to show support.

After his first qualifying simulation run in first practice, Bottas said on team radio: "F**k, this track is cool!"

After the session, Bottas added: "It is quite hardcore, pretty full gas and close to the walls at high speeds but that is what we enjoy and definitely gives you a bit of an adrenaline rush.

"In FP1, actually it was better than I was expecting so I mean, it was a little dusty but wasn't extreme.

"Thanks to other categories we have had here this weekend running before, it was improving step by step.

"They [the officials] have done a nice job with the Tarmac, it is grippy even though it is new and also not really that bumpy except maybe turns 22 and 27 a little bit, but otherwise, really nice and smooth."

Despite the strong pace shown by the Mercedes driver, Bottas insisted the biggest learnings from Friday's running were ensuring track data correlated with the team's preparation.

"You base your starting set-up and simulations on estimated grip level and that can really change a lot so actually, we started in a not really too bad place.

"I have to say, the biggest surprise learning was the tyres, they last quite well and I am not sure we are going to see too many stops in the race."

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