Bottas battling 'leg numbness' problem in the cockpit

Valtteri Bottas has revealed that he's been battling a leg numbness issue this season, a problem affecting his left leg and brought on by a stiff brake pedal.

Bottas said he experienced the uncomfortable condition in last weekend's Belgian Grand Prix, but insisted Mercedes working on a solution to solve the issue.

"There’s been a couple of races this year where we have a really stiff brake pedal, and I get this numbness because I have to press it so hard," Bottas said.

"It just happened again. It’s not ideal. It’s not very comfortable and can lead to mistakes."

"The team is on it. They always listen very carefully to what we say," he added.

"When it comes to driver comfort, they’re definitely on it. I think there’s nothing yet here, there’s still work to do with that, so hopefully this weekend goes OK.

"I don’t know if they’ve tried things yet, but I’m sure they can do something to help the driver comfort.

"We spend quite a bit of time in the car, so we want everything to be perfect. [It’s] still drivable, it’s fine. The point is it can be better."

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Bottas said he encountered a case of leg numbness in the past, during his maiden season with Mercedes.

"I remember 2017, first year with the team, but that issue was more from the seat," said the eight-time Grand Prix winner.

"I struggled with some numbness here and there, and with some pressure points. We’ve been able to get it quite nice.

"Even in previous years, there have sometimes been some issues. It’s not like it’s magical those things happen. They happen because there’s quite a bit of pressure with the G forces."

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