Valtteri Bottas (viii): “I still don’t understand” / Formula 1

This was certainly not what Valtteri Bottas imagined about the second final training of the Formula 1 Year in Imola. After the Mercedes driver made a strong start to the race weekend and scored twice faster on Friday, the best times are no longer running on Saturday. Finn said it was difficult to get the tires in the working window.

“His problem is heating the tires,” said Toto Wolf, director of Mercedes Motorsport in an interview with ORF. He warned: “He has to make his way past the vehicles on the soft tires.” Bottas himself also knows that this is not an easy thing on the road that is not easy to pass.

“Overtaking is difficult here because of the tight track, but I will fight and give my best,” said the 31-year-old, who has to start the race from eighth on the net. A nine-time GP winner admitted: “This is not the result I was hoping for, especially given the feeling I had at the start of the qualifiers.”

“Today was a bit confusing and I still don’t understand the performance in Q3. On my first Q3 tour, I drove to Tamburello when the rear suddenly broke out. I had lost a lot of time as a result. Same thing on the second try, I didn’t trust me. Back end This was not the case in Q1 and Q2, which is why it is difficult to understand. Bottas sighed.

He can comfort himself by performing on teammate Lewis Hamilton, who has captured the 99th place in his Grand Prix career. The World Cup runner-up stressed last year that “this proves that the differences between the two teams differ and this is a better place for us than Bahrain, even if my results do not reflect that.”

“Lewis got to # 1 and I should have ended up there too. Bottas then explained that the fact that he did so was not only due to the track, but also the hard work of all the members of the team.

Playoffs, Imola

01. Lewis Hamilton (UK), Mercedes W12, 1: 14411
02. Sergio Perez (Mexico), Red Bull Racing RB16B-Honda, 1: 14446
03 Max Verstappen (Netherlands) Red Bull Racing RB16B – Honda, 1: 14498
04. Charles Leclerc (MC), Ferrari SF21, 1: 14.740
05. Pierre Gasly (Female) AlphaTauri AT02-Honda, 1: 14790
06. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS), McLaren MCL35M-Mercedes, 1: 14.826
07.Lando Norris (GB), McLaren MCL35M-Mercedes, 1: 14875
08. Valtteri Bottas (FIN), Mercedes W12, 1: 14,898
09. Esteban Ocon (F), Alpine A521-Renault, 1: 15210
10. Lance Stroll (CDN), Aston Martin AMR21-Mercedes, without time
11. Carlos Sainz (English), Ferrari SF21, 1:15, 199
12. George Russell (UK), Williams FW43B-Mercedes, 1: 15,261
13. Sebastian Vettel (D), Aston Martin AMR21- Mercedes, 1: 15,394
14. Nicholas Latifi (CDN) Williams FW43B-Mercedes 1: 15,593
15. Fernando Alonso (English), Alpine A521-Renault, 1: 15.593
16. Kimi Räikkönen (FIN), Alfa Romeo C41-Ferrari, 1: 15974
17. Antonio Giovinazzi (1st), Alfa Romeo C41-Ferrari, 1: 16.122
18. Mick Schumacher (D), Haas VF-21-Ferrari, 1: 16,279
19. Nikita Mazpin (Russia), Haas VF-21-Ferrari, 1: 16797
20. Yuki Tsunoda (J), AlphaTauri AT02-Honda, No Time (Accident)