Prior to the Russian Grand Prix, Mercedes made the surprising decision to take a new power unit and a 10-place grid penalty for Valtteri Bottas despite having already done that in the previous race in Italy. Mercedes explained this as being tactical and many felt that this was done mainly to impede Max Verstappen’s progress through the field. However, Max got past Bottas relatively easily and Bottas has now given his thoughts about his race while speaking to Sky Sports and other media outlets
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0:00 - Bottas Responds To Being Unable To Hold Up Max In Sochi
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Bottas Responds To Being Unable To Hold Up Max In Sochi
Bottas began by accepting that the rain saved him
“It was a difficult race and not an easy day, but the situation at the end with the rain saved it for me”
He elaborated on why he wasn’t able to make much progress until the rain came
“Before that, I was struggling to progress through the field. It was much more difficult than I thought it would be, because I just couldn’t follow through the corners – I was getting big understeer. I couldn’t carry the speed and get close enough to overtake, and other cars were finding it easier to follow closely”
He then spoke about the rain that ultimately helped him get a decent result
“Then the rain arrived, I wanted to stop one lap earlier but the team wasn’t quite ready. I could have been on the podium but we were still one of the first cars to stop, which was good. I managed to climb up the order and score some good points, which is positive after a tricky day”
He signed off by responding to why Max was able to get past him pretty easily
“I didn’t really see him coming. I have to watch. He managed to push his way forward faster than I did”
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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has wished “a big congratulations to Lewis [Hamilton] on his 100th win”
“What we are witnessing is just mind-blowing. It'll be talked about for the next few days, but it'll only be years down the line when we realise that we've all been part of this journey”
“A journey no other driver in F1 history has done so far. That's beyond race wins and championship victories, that is the very human part of all this”
McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo pointed out that Sochi presented a “pretty eventful race. Sometimes this track doesn’t provide that, but this weekend it did with both quali and the race”
“There was a lot that happened. I think my start was kinda too good! I had to pull out and then pull back in, so we lost a few positions there, but then made a few back over the first lap”
“Then the rain came, and that’s when it all turned on its head. I just missed the podium, but P4 is a solid result. Good points and, I think, for those tricky conditions, it’s always nice just to get out with your nose clean”
His team principal Andreas Seidl has stated that they “are, of course, disappointed with finishing P4 and P7 in the Russian Grand Prix, given the positions [they] were in three laps from the end of the race”
“On the positive side, both Lando, Daniel and the whole team put in strong performances all weekend, which is highly encouraging going into the last third of the season”
“Attention will no doubt be given to the decision to stay out on the slicks with Lando”, he confirmed
Alpine’s Fernando Alonso explained that he “finished sixth, but third place is more of a true reflection of [their] finishing position”
“It all came down to luck in the end with the rain coming so late on. It was like a flip of a coin. Some cars stopped one lap earlier and I was in third position when it really started to rain”
“It was impossible to predict. Nevertheless, sixth is a good result for us and we deserved it. We looked competitive throughout the race, so there are lots of positives to take away”
Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi has revealed that he “was hit in Turn 2 and [he] lost a few places there: in addition, [he] was without radio from the first lap”
“So it was impossible to communicate with the team”, he added
“It has been a difficult afternoon, especially when the rain started at the end of the race and I couldn’t talk to the pits about the tyre change”, he elaborated
Was it the right call by Mercedes to take an engine penalty for Bottas in Russia?
