The weekend of Miami Grand Prix had started with a decidedly false step for Valtteri Bottas, author of a spin and a contact against the barriers during PL1 which had kept him away from the track for the rest of the second session on Friday. An approach, therefore, anything but positive for the Finn, but which has done nothing but increase the value of a company built twenty-four hours later.
The former Mercedes driver, once back on track for PL3, quickly learned the characteristics of the new US track, to the point of concluding qualifying at 5th place on the starting grid, synonymous with his best placement on the grid since he moved to the court of Hinwil. The Scandinavian equalized the Alfa Romeo ‘record’ of compatriot Kimi Raikkonen – fifth in Germany in 2019 – and took away the satisfaction of beating Lewis Hamilton once again, sixth with Mercedes: “I am really satisfied with today’s performance – commented a Bottas applauded by fans from all over the world – it was a great recovery from yesterday when we didn’t have an easy day. A big thank you to the whole team for quickly returning the car to me after rebuilding it. It was my job to find a good pace after identifying a good set-up, and in Q3 I had definitely found it ”.
“Even before the weekend there were signs that this could be achieved, so I’m not surprised to be here, but of course I’m glad all things went well. The only pity is that Zhou didn’t succeed – he added, not forgetting the thrill he felt at the end of Q1, when he managed to avoid the cut by a whisker – moreover in a Q1 in which I too risked being eliminated. We are now in our best case, behind Ferrari and Red Bull. We know it’s going to be hard to fight them, but that’s racing, so you never know what’s going to happen. We just have to focus on our race and, if there are opportunities, take them. Tomorrow will be a real challenge, between the heat and tire management – he added – but we have a good car, so we can fight to stay ahead of the midfield: a finish in the top five must be our minimum goal“.
More disappointment, however, for the teammate Guanyu Zhousentenced by traffic to a 17th place which, unlike Bottas, represents his worst result in Formula 1: “It is frustrating not to enter Q2 for the first time – explained the Chinese driver – we could only do a quick lap in the final, when the track was improving: we were out of phase, and when I got to turn 17 on my last attempt there was a whole bunch of cars standing in front of me, so I had to give up my ride. If not, I think I could have been in Q2 today too. Tomorrow will be a real challenge because overtaking won’t be easy, but it’s also a track where it’s easy to make mistakes, so we need to be ready for any opportunity. We will try to go forward as much as possible, we have a good car and we will do our best ”.
#Bottas #thrill #paw #FormulaPassionit