Bottas heartbroken - didn't 'see or feel' debris

Mercedes Valtteri Bottas reckons he'll need at least "10 pints of beer" to forget the dreadful bad luck that deprived him of a sure win in Sunday's Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

The Finn was leading with just two laps to go when he picked up a heavy piece of debris that punctured the rear-right tyre of his Mercedes W09, instantly putting him out of the race.

"I'm absolutely heartbroken. It hurts a lot. But this is racing; some days are good, some days are bad - and some days are very bad," said a gutted Valtteri Bottas.

"A small piece of debris destroyed my entire weekend. We had a good race until the puncture. The car felt really good and we were fast.

• 'Emotional' Hamilton admits to 'disbelief' over Baku win

"I thought I had everything under control on the Safety Car restart, but then suddenly my tyre exploded.

"I didn't see the debris and I couldn't feel it until the tyre blew. It was really close the last couple of races, so it's good that our team won today, but I'm obviously still very disappointed.

"I'll try again in two weeks."

While Mercedes non-executive chairman Niki Lauda was unhappy with the fact that the debris had not been spotted and picked up by the marshals, Bottas suggested it was just part of the hazards of racing on a street circuit.

"This track is difficult, on street circuits in general there are a lot of crashes, so it was always going to be an issue. This time I was so unlucky. I had no idea at any point that I had run over any debris. I didn't see anything, I didn't feel anything so it was just very very unlucky."

The day's massive disappointment didn't deprive Bottas of his sense of humour however. Asked by Sky Sports Rachel Brookes how he intended to pick himself up from the letdown, the Finn said: "Ten pints of beer and I'll be fine!"

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