Bottas was lacking pace 'on every compound'

Valtteri Bottas says he was lacking pace on every tyre compound during Friday running at the Marina Bay Circuit in Singapore. 

The opening practice session of the weekend ended early for the Finn, as he crashed into the barriers in the final sector after losing the rear of his Mercedes W10.

Bottas admitted that the crash was his own fault, paying the price for making a mistake at a circuit where there are very few run-offs. 

"It was a tricky one, I had a bit of an off moment in FP1 which ended my running a but early but everything was feeling okay until then," Bottas said.

"I just lost the back end around one of the corners, and here with no run-offs, you pay the price. It can happen I guess."

In the second practice session, Bottas ended up fourth fastest but was over one second down on teammate Lewis Hamilton, who set the pace.

Bottas confirmed that he was struggling for feel throughout the 90 minutes of running, as he was feeling "friction" within his steering system - leading him to believe that the car wasn't 100% healthy. 

"In FP2, I'm not really sure what was going on. I was lacking pace on every single run, on every tyre compound," Bottas stated. "So I'm not quite sure if everything was alright with the car.

"We need to have a look, it felt like I couldn't go any quicker but I was one second off the pace. 

"The only thing that I could feel was quite a bit of friction in the steering system, so I struggled to feel the car properly. We'll do everything for sure, but I doubt everything was 100%."

Replies (1)

Login to reply
  • Lacking pace in every compound, on every track, against every other top driver. What a waste of a seat

    • + 0
    • Sep 21 2019 - 21:46

AZ Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Local time 

AZAzerbaijan Grand Prix

Local time 

Test calendar

See full test schedule

World Championship standings 2026

Show full world champion standings

Related news

Give your opinion!

Will Bottas challenge Hamilton for the world championship in 2020?

Formula 1 Calendar - 2026

Date
Grand Prix
Circuit
-
Spain
-
Bahrain
-
Bahrain
6 - Mar 8
Australia
13 - Mar 15
China
27 - Mar 29
Japan
10 - Apr 12
Bahrain
17 - Apr 19
Saudi Arabia
1 - May 3
United States of America
22 - May 24
Canada
5 - Jun 7
Monaco
12 - Jun 14
Spain
See full schedule

Formula 1 Calendar - 2026

Date
Grand Prix & Circuit
6 - Mar 8
Australia Albert Park
13 - Mar 15
27 - Mar 29
10 - Apr 12
17 - Apr 19
Saudi Arabia Jeddah Street Circuit
1 - May 3
United States of America Miami International Autodrome
22 - May 24
5 - Jun 7
Monaco Monte Carlo
12 - Jun 14
See full schedule

Driver profile

  • Team Cadillac F1
  • Points 1,608
  • Podiums 61
  • Grand Prix 211
  • Country FI
  • Date of b. Aug 28 1989 (36)
  • Place of b. Nastola, FI
  • Weight 70 kg
  • Length 1.73 m
Show full profile

Team profile

Show full profile
show sidebar