Bottas regrets not having adopted the same strategy as Hamilton

Dominant since the start of the Portuguese weekend, Valtteri Bottas saw Lewis Hamilton gradually gaining momentum until he won the 97th pole position of his career this Saturday. The Finn pays for a bad strategic choice compared to his teammate.

« We had to choose between a strategy of two quick turns or just one. We opted for the second which allowed me to carry less fuel in the car even if I would have more difficulty getting my tires up to temperature. It was my decision since it had worked in Q2 even if in the end the two-lap strategy, that of Lewis, was obviously the best ».

Logically frustrated by the final result, Valtteri Bottas did not hide his disappointment after his car. "  It was a decent ride but not perfect. It is difficult to have clean laps on this circuit ". The vice-world champion is certain that he would have “ had to favor the two-round strategy ».

On the other side of the stand Mercedes, the face displayed is quite different, that of the joy of a Lewis Hamilton relieved after so much work since the start of the weekend. “ I can't tell you how difficult it was. Certainly we have an incredible car but regardless we have to give everything we have at every lap.

Valtteri has been very fast since the start of the weekend. So I had to dig deeper to understand where I needed to save time. In the end, I decided to do three laps to give myself a chance to beat his time and it worked. My last ride just kept getting better and better over time ».

Mercedes left the strategic choice to its drivers and in the end it was Lewis Hamilton who won. A well-known story.