Bottas 'wasn't asked' to slow down to limit Hamilton's F1 penalty

Valtteri Bottas says he was not asked by Mercedes to slow down on his final lap of Formula 1 qualifying in order to limit Lewis Hamilton’s penalty at the Turkish Grand Prix.

Lewis Larkam

09 Oct 2021

(L to R): Pole sitter Valtteri Bottas (FIN) Mercedes AMG F1 with team mate and fastest in qualifying Lewis Hamilton (GBR) Mercedes AMG F1 in parc ferme. — (L to R): Pole sitter Valtteri Bottas (FIN) Mercedes AMG F1 with team mate…
© xpbimages.com

Hamilton topped qualifying in Turkey but will be demoted to 11th on the grid for exceeding his permitted engine allocation for the season, meaning it is his Mercedes teammate Bottas who will start from pole position.

The Finn was the quicker of the two Mercedes on the opening runs of Q3 but ultimately ended up 0.130s behind Hamilton on his final flying lap after losing time through the last sequence of corners.

Asked whether he was told to slow down to ensure he did not outqualify Hamilton - and therefore bump him to P12 on the grid - Bottas replied: “No, I wasn’t asked to slow down and I was definitely going for it.

“I started to struggle a bit with the front end in the last sector, so I just had some understeer in Turn 12 and 14, so I could feel I was losing a bit of time.

“I probably used the tyres a bit more earlier in the lap. So, I was fully going for it, for sure.”

Bottas said he enjoyed the challenge of the tricky conditions with the track still damp in places for much of qualifying session following a downpour on Saturday morning.

“It was a good session and, obviously, as a result for us as a team it’s the ideal and perfect in a way, with the situation we have and with Lewis’ penalty,” he explained.

“The session itself, Q1 was tricky with the conditions and, to be honest, even in the end of Q3 there were still a couple of spots where there were a few damp patches and you needed to be a bit cautious or find the best way around them.

“But I enjoyed it. Still the grip level was decent and from the start of the weekend the car has been in a pretty good window in terms of the set-up, so we didn’t need to make massive changes. So, I enjoyed it.”

And Bottas said he is determined to convert pole into the win, with his last F1 victory coming at the 2020 Russian Grand Prix over than a year ago.

“Very motivated,” Bottas said. “I haven’t won yet this season.

“This is a big motivation for me but I need to focus on certain things in the race, step by step, keep the focus and hope for the best.”