Bottas satisfied with “his nice lap in Q3” after a “complicated Friday”

Valtteri Bottas knows: his chances of a world title are close to zero. But the pilot Mercedes is a fighter and he will not give up his weapons before the end of the fight. 

Bottas demonstrated it again this Saturday by picking up a 5th personal pole this season, his first on the undulating COTA circuit. The Finn, however, did not get off to an ideal start to his American weekend and was at a respectable distance from his teammate. Lewis Hamilton Friday night. 

In qualifying, Bottas was only 5th in Q1, and 6th in Q2. He appeared at the right time by taking provisional pole at the end of the opening laps in Q3. Almost no one was able to improve their score during the final attempts, except Max Verstappen. 

In the end, Bottas took the 11th pole of his career by 12 thousandths against Sebastian Vettel, and 67 thousandths compared to the pilot Red Bull.

« I am very happy, declared the pole sitter of the day as he got out of the car. I completed a nice lap on my first attempt in Q3. On such a track, the feeling is really nice. Yesterday, the situation was complicated in free practice. Several things were wrong with my car, particularly with the settings, tire pressure and temperature. We worked hard to identify the reasons for these problems and we found the solutions this morning in FP3. 

I knew what had to be done to bring all the ingredients together, but then you still have to get it right when it counts. It's a very nice feeling to get there. On the last attempts, there was less grip for everyone. At the end of the first sector, I was already a few tenths behind my best time. I'm glad no one could improve in the end. ». 

Bottas also knows it, he must win on Sunday to maintain a tiny hope of coronation. Last year, Hamilton, then on pole, was surprised by the Ferrari of Kimi Räikkönen inside the first corner as the lights go out. Nothing to worry about his placid garage neighbor.

« We have been competitive in race configuration for several weekends, commented Bottas. I think we have the pace to win, that's the goal ». 

Hamilton, who only needs a 9th place with a best lap in the race to pocket a 6th crown, will start from 5th place on the grid.