Bottas: Next year's Pirelli tyres very similar to 2018

After day sampling Pirelli's 2019 tyres yesterday in Abu Dhabi, Valtteri Bottas sees little difference between next year's rubber and the compounds used this season.

All ten teams had the opportunity to put F1's 2019 tyres through their paces at the two-day post-season test conducted by Pirelli at Yas Marina.

The Mercedes driver clocked in at the end of day 1 with the second fastest time, behind Sebastian Vettel, and 120 laps under his belt while he put in another 143 on Wednesday.

And Bottas was particularly interested in assessing the range of rubber given Mercedes' issues with tyre temperatures this season and the always dreaded problem of blistering.

"No, they didn't feel strange," said the Finn.

"The differences are really small. The inner structure is a bit thicker, which means the blistering should be less.

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"But the surface of the tyre overheats just as it did before. It means we can do one lap flat out but then we have to manage them again.

"Today we worked on compound scans, trying all the 2019 compounds from the hardest to the softest rubber," he added, speaking about Wednesday's work day.

"We focused on medium and long runs, gathering plenty of data and learning about the tyres. This week we've got lots of data for the team to analyse over the winter and we can't wait to dig into it."

Vettel shared his rival's view, believing the tyres were indeed very similar despite the fact that several drivers had recently conveyed to Pirelli their hope that the compounds would evolve.

"We only had that conversation three weeks ago so it has no effect on these tyres. It's more of a long-term project," Vettel told Speed Week.

"The more interesting question is the tyre selection for next year -- what tyres Pirelli will take to what tracks. That can have more difference than the move from 2018 to 2019."

Pirelli F1 boss Mario Isola confirmed that tyre selection at each race will indeed prove crucial next season.

"The design and the compounds are defined already, but we can change the choice of compounds for the particular grands prix," he said.

"I talked about this with the drivers and teams, and while there is no obvious direction in which everyone would like to move, I want to include the teams in the selection process."

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