Bottas: “There are certain rules to respect”

Valtteri Bottas did not have his chances for the podium at the Singapore GP. While he was able to catch up with his teammate Lewis Hamilton who lost time by extending his first stint, Mercedes asked the Finn to slow down before leaving the field open to the potential six-time world champion.

Accustomed to this status as the team's second driver, Valtteri Bottas takes it without really flinching even if the situation is frustrating.

“There are certain rules to respect even if it is regrettable. The car in front has priority and I had to respect the rule. If the car behind stops and is able to undercut, we make sure the other car stays ahead.", he commented.

The instruction remains hard to swallow, especially since Lewis Hamilton still has a solid lead in the Drivers' standings with 6 races remaining in the season. Mercedes missed out on its weekend where it was the favorite to win when it did not even reach the podium.

“We cannot be satisfied with the result of this weekend, recognized Valtteri Bottas. We will have to analyze in detail what went wrong, whether in qualifying or in the race. There wasn't much action for me and it seemed a bit like a long Sunday ride, but without the air conditioning. The car was fast in the race, but you need a gap of almost 2 seconds to overtake here and I couldn't attack the cars in front. »

Valtteri Bottas is now waiting for the Russian GP this weekend to get back on track since it was on this track that he won his first victory two years earlier.

“We will now go to Sochi, a circuit on which I usually feel good. There are, however, very long straights where one might expect Ferrari still performs well. It won't be easy, but I hope I'm lucky enough to fight."he concluded.

Valtteri Bottas remains 2nd in the championship with 31 points ahead of Charles Leclerc et Max Verstappen. The Finn is 65 units behind his teammate Lewis Hamilton.

Discover the analysis of the Singapore GP carried out by our special correspondents in issue 2235 of AUTOhebdo, available from Monday evening in digital version on all platforms, and from this Wednesday on newsstands.