Bottas loses connection at first corner: 'I didn't see him'

Bottas comes up short

It is not yet the season of Valtteri Bottas. The Finn had high hopes for this season in which he would finally compete for the world title, but with new challenger Max Verstappen around the corner, Lewis Hamilton has only raised his level even further. Bottas had to settle for P3 in Spain and does regret it.

''It went a bit better, but it was not a victory, which of course you are always aiming for. The biggest problem for me was the start of the race. Charles (Leclerc) was on the outside, and to be honest I hadn't seen him. Once I saw him it was too late and he overtook me. That did ruin my race,'' Bottas said at Ziggo Sport.

Bottas versus Hamilton

''The pace was okay today though. At first, we thought about a one-stop, but that turned out not to be possible. The wear on the medium tyre was much higher than expected, so we had to change some things'', says the Finn. Hamilton was lightning fast on the yellow tyre, so Rick Winkelman asks if Bottas' setup was different?

''No, it wasn't, but Lewis stopped much later and had also decided to switch to a two-stop strategy much earlier, so he could push harder. Now it's on to Monaco and there full focus on Q3'', concludes the Mercedes driver.