Valtteri Bottas says that he will come back fighting after he lost out at the British Grand Prix due to a poorly timed safety car.
The safety car was deployed following Antonio Giovinazzi's spin into the gravel, which forced the recovery vehicle to take to the circuit.
Bottas had made a pit stop before the safety car, coming in from the lead of the race while teammate Lewis Hamilton stayed out until the track went yellow - which provided the local hero with a free stop in which he took the lead.
"I don't know what to say, congratulations to Lewis, massive support for him over here," Bottas said. "I stopped first and I was controlling the pit stop gap so I was still effectively leading the race until the safety car.
"Lewis got a free stop there. I also went onto the mediums which meant I had to stop again at the end so that was pretty much it. Not really my day but at least the pace was good.
"There are some positives, we were the quickest on the track and the race pace was good today. We had a good fight and it's not over yet."
Hamilton offered his praise to the Mercedes team, thanking them for their work after a historic milestone for the Briton, who picked up his sixth home win.
"I couldn't have done it without my team. Everyone back at the factory, their wives and their kids, they're so supportive the whole time they're away, how dedicated they are to their jobs.
"There are 2,000 people in the team that make it possible, I'm just a link in the chain. I value them massively and am super proud to be a part of this."
Replies (4)
Login to replycalle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Well, do your best... I guess.... That is the only real battle for P1 we'll have. Still not really caring though, give me more Max vs Leclerc! Two teams what I like, one driver I like and one I respect and regard as highly skilled, and one team being Honda powered!
Pistonhead
Posts: 556
Incredible racing today, British GP is the best and never fails to disappoint. Though Vettel was unlucky with the penalty points, Im sure he didn't mean to do that but it did sort of dampen Verstappen's prospects. Though LEC was brilliant, starting to outperform his illustrious team mate me thinks,
Ram Samartha
Posts: 1,172
He just can't catch a break. He was really looking strong early on.
abhidbgt
Posts: 283
Mercedes are in a league of their own. They had such a huge advantage over Ferrari. I am not sure about Red Bull because as Verstappen said they would have been good for a P2.