Bottas: "You really can't afford this big loss of points"
F1 News
- GPblog.com
Valtteri Bottas was on course for a long time to finish second, but his podium went up in smoke when he got a flat tire. Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc took full advantage of this and especially in the case of Verstappen it is favourable. In terms of points it has come very close and the distance between the two Mercedes drivers is much greater, as Hamilton was able to finish the race without having to go to the pit.
Must be continuously on top of the points
The battle for the championship this year will be between Bottas and Hamilton, as they are the only two with the material equivalent to each other. Where Bottas won the first race, Hamilton is now in the rhythm and pointless races like last weekend, Bottas absolutely can't use it, which is now facing a considerable backlog.
The difference is now 30 points between the two drivers and Verstappen is only six points behind the Finn. Bottas doesn't have to worry about Verstappen if the difference between Mercedes and Red Bull remains as big as it is now, but even then the position of the Finn isn't favourable. Something he has taken for granted.
Motorsport.com notes from Bottas: "Of course it's not ideal. But you just don't know, so obviously the best bet would be to be on top of the points all of the time. It's a big loss of points. These kinds of things, you can't really afford, but obviously it happened."
Can't help it...
Bottas says a little later: "Yes Lewis had a good race, but he also got away with it in a way. What can I do? What can I say? It's not ideal, but you can't change what has happened. I'll keep pushing and keep believing. You just never know what will happen", said the Finn who lost eighteen points in the championship due to the puncture.