Bottas hit with 5-place grid penalty after "pushing too hard"

Valtteri Bottas concedes he was pushing too hard in a bid to challenge for pole position before crashing out of qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix. 

The Mercedes driver took too much kerb on the entry to Turn 1 on his first Q3 flying effort and ran wide onto the grass - still wet from earlier rain - which sent him hurting into the barriers on the exit of the following corner. 

Bottas hit with 5-place grid penalty after

Valtteri Bottas concedes he was pushing too hard in a bid to challenge for pole position before crashing out of qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix. 

The Mercedes driver took too much kerb on the entry to Turn 1 on his first Q3 flying effort and ran wide onto the grass - still wet from earlier rain - which sent him hurting into the barriers on the exit of the following corner. 

Bottas walked away from the hefty incident unscathed, but the impact caused significant damage, wrecking the right-hand side of his Mercedes W09 car.

“I was just pushing a bit too hard,” Bottas explained. “I went wide in Turn 1 and the kerb was still a bit damp. I lost the rear of the car and hit the wall outside of Turn 2. 

"When I got to the first corner I tried to carry a lot of speed, went a bit wider than ideal and it was definitively a bit damp where I was, in the astroturf, so I got a lot of rear wheel spin and couldn’t catch the rear anymore. I didn’t want to lift anymore, so it was just my mistake.

“It's very unfortunate and I feel sorry for the team because we have a really competitive car. It looked like it was damaged pretty badly, so I really hope we can fix it for the race.”

Bottas revealed the impact had been measured at 27G, but played down concerns regarding his fitness. 

"I can definitively feel it a bit, but I’m glad everything is fine, there’s no real pain at the moment. For sure at the moment it hurts, but I guess you earn that when you make a mistake."

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff later confirmed the team would need to change the gearbox, resulting in a five-place grid penalty for the Finn to add to his difficult start to the new season. 

Bottas is set to start Sunday’s race from 15th on the grid, assuming no other penalties are handed out prior to the season-opener. Despite the set-back, Bottas is determined to turn his fortunes around. 

“We approach tomorrow with a fighting spirit. Overtaking is difficult on this track, but we'll try everything we can. Maybe it's a little easier this year with the added DRS zone, we'll find out tomorrow. 

“We have a good car, so I'll try to fight back the best I can. Once we get the car in the window, it seems like it's really quick, so that's something positive from today.”

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