Valtteri Bottas: Change in strategy “not ideal” at Brazil
F1 News
- Bevan Youl
Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas has said that the change in strategy from the team was “not ideal” but had to be done with concerns tyres wouldn’t last until the end of the race before retiring.
Of the back of four podium finishes in a row, including two wins, Bottas’ Brazilian Grand Prix proved to be troublesome one with a lack of pace before having to retire due to a high oil consumption causing issues.
"It was a tricky race overall, even before I had to retire the car,” said Bottas. “The pace wasn’t quite there today, so we will have to investigate that.
“I was aiming to do a one-stop and go to the end on the Hard tyres, but I had to pit again as we were concerned that the tyres wouldn’t last until the end.
“It’s obviously not ideal to switch strategies like that, but it didn’t really matter in the end as I didn’t finish the race.”
As for why there was an unexpectedly high oil consumption from the Finn’s Mercedes the 30-year old isn’t sure what caused it yet but is looking forward to the season ending race in Abu Dhabi, which he won back in 2017.
“I don’t know the details yet, I just suddenly lost power, so we will have look into that and see what caused it,” he added.
“It was very disappointing especially since there was a lot happening afterwards, so it would have been nice to be a part of that action.
“I’m now looking forward to the race in Abu Dhabi, we want to come back strong and finish the season on a high."