Spanish Grand Prix – Bottas surprised at the start
New race and new podium Hamilton-Verstappen-Bottas. The most frequent podium in the history of the discipline was once again celebrated at the Spanish Grand Prix, in the same order for the 3rd time this season, with Bottas seeming to be behind compared to his colleagues.
On a Mercedes-style circuit, Lewis Hamilton managed the race to snatch another victory, relying on his team’s excellent strategy. This was not the case for his teammate Valtteri Bottas, who once again finishes in third place, never able to fight for the win.
A difficult start
The Finnish driver was caught off guard at the start by Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari, who snatched third place from him in the first corners. The Mercedes driver admits his mistake on the microphones at the end of the race: “My race was difficult, mainly because of the start, where Charles (Leclerc) chose a better line to overtake me. I had the speed but I remained stuck behind him for a long time which impacted my race. Fortunately, I finished 3rd thanks to a better strategy but once again we didn’t score full points in this race, which is disappointing.”
« Impatient to be in Monaco »
Bottas already has his eyes set on Monaco: « The Monaco circuit is unique, and I can’t wait to go back there after two years away. »
The Mercedes driver will have to raise his game if he wants to fight for the world championship crown. In the meantime, he is in third place in the standings and is 47 points behind (which is half…) his teammate.
