Valtteri Bottas wants to find the path to victory again
Valtteri Bottas hopes to convert his second pole position into a second victory this year, while Lewis Hamilton will have to climb from 8th place to try to limit the damage in the championship.
Even before the start of the qualifying session, Valtteri Bottas knew that Lewis Hamilton would not be a rival for him since the Briton was forced to change his gearbox. However, he acknowledges that he could have done even better for his last lap: « What a special feeling! This is only my second pole position, and I hope there will be more. It was a good lap in Q3, but it wasn’t perfect. It was about building confidence in the car. It was well-tuned, and it’s great to sign my second pole of my career. »
He is thus playing the game for his team and teammate by outpacing Sebastian Vettel on the grid. However, he intends to convert this pole position into a victory, following his triumph in Russia. But on a circuit where overtaking is common, he will have to watch out for the comeback of the Ferrari drivers: « I’m going to focus on my own race, rather than looking behind me. We must not underestimate the Ferraris. It’s going to be tight, and it should be an interesting battle. »
For the Finn, there is only one goal and it can only be victory: « The car is great, especially with a lot of fuel. I am ready to win. It’s the only goal. It’s been too long since Russia » he concluded.
In any case, Lewis Hamilton’s race is expected to be eventful as he has to settle for 8th place on the grid. This is a situation he has already experienced on the Austrian circuit, as in 2014, he started from ninth place after his best time was deleted for exceeding track limits, before spinning out on his second attempt. But that was another era, and the three-time world champion expects to struggle to climb back up: “I think it will be difficult to make progress tomorrow. The field is much tighter than in 2014 when I climbed up to second position. But perhaps the weather can play a role. I’m going to fight to catch up and try to score as many points as possible. We still have a very good pace and the car has been fantastic here. I know I have the car to do it.”
The goal will therefore be to minimize the gap in the Drivers’ Championship as much as possible while trying to maximize the lead in the Constructors’ Championship.
