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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff believes Valtteri Bottas will bounce back in strong form next time out in Canada.
Bottas was running second in the Monaco Grand Prix before he was jumped by Max Verstappen when they both pitted during a safety car period.
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Bottas had to make a second pit stop on the very next lap following the contact, which dropped him to fourth behind Sebastian Vettel.
The Finn eventually claimed third place after Verstappen received a five-second time penalty for the unsafe release, which bumped him to fourth after the chequered flag.
“Max lost a position because of the penalty and the manoeuvre and Valtteri lost a second place, three points more that are lost, and Mercedes lost a one-two," Wolff said.
“From the team’s point we are super-happy with a one and three and from Valtteri’s point he will be gutted because he had the pace the weekend, he could have been on pole in terms of raw speed and today P2 was the minimum I think and that P2 was taken away from him.
“I think he has shown huge resilience and determination in these last races. The speed was mind-boggling [in qualifying] and I have no doubt it’s going to annoy the hell out of him and he’s going to come back very strong in Montreal.”
Bottas revealed that he thought the second pit stop he made after contact with Verstappen was going to drop him further down the order.
"I thought that when I got the puncture and had to stop again that I was going to be at the back of the grid,” Bottas said. “But luckily I only lost a couple of places.
“So, unlucky but lucky at the same time. It could have been a lot worse. They're still important points, obviously disappointing going backwards from where you start from. Sometimes it goes like this.”
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Replies (6)
Login to replyxoya
Posts: 583
Bottas is done. He already lost the title, because Hamilton has found his groove. Now we are just waiting to see if he loses his seat.
abhidbgt
Posts: 283
I would say he is the only real competition this year for Lewis. Not counting him out just yet.
zorba
Posts: 1,729
ben je daar weer met die flauwe kul ,Bottas is terecht mercedes piloot en daarmee basta
xoya
Posts: 583
We will just have to wait and see, zorba.
Ram Samartha
Posts: 1,172
Bottas isn't done, He was fast all weekend and would have been fighting at the front against Hamilton if Verstappen had ruined his race. There is no reason for him to be intentionally hitting other cars when trying to gain places, especially in the pit lane. At least he got 2 penalty points on his license for hitting Bottas and gaining an advantage.
cricho
Posts: 80
Yes he will come back stronger!
We just have to wait and see if he comes back strong enough to challenge lewis for the 2019 championship!
Im sure we will see more of bottas this year....