F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Bottas blames Q3 yellow flag for missing out on pole

Valtteri Bottas says that the yellow flag triggered by Renault's Esteban Ocon in the final moments of qualifying cost him a shot of taking pole position for this weekend's Tuscan Grand Prix.

Bottas had been fastest of anyone throughout all three practice sessions at Mugello, and remained quickest in the first round of qualifying.

But his Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton pipped him in Q2 by 0.013s, and he was just 0.059s again after the first run of the final pole shoot-out round.

Hamilton was unable to improve his time with his second and last flying lap of Q3, but Bottas was prevented from going faster in his run when local waved yellows came out for an incident involving Ocon.

“I still had more time in there, and I was just waiting to get it all right," Bottas explained after the chequered flag.

"Run one was okay but not perfect, so I was looking forward to it but I just didn’t get the opportunity," he lamented.

"There was still something to be found, and I was confident of myself but there was no chance with the double yellow in the second runs.

“In the end I should have been stronger first run, his first run was better than mine, so that’s it.

"For sure it’s disappointing, because the speed has been good all weekend."

It leaves Bottas starting from second row on the grid for the fourth race in succession. But even though it had been widely predicted that overtaking would be a problem at Mugello, he felt that there would still be every chance to attack Hamilton in the race.

"Coming into the weekend we thought it was going to be nearly impossible,” he admitted.

“But what we experienced in the practice sessions, the track is so wide and there are so many different lines you can take in the corners so you can kind of avoid the dirty air in those corners.

"I hope so," he added. "Again, long run into turn 1 and I hope the head wind stays for the race, because that would be a nice benefit for me, to get the tow.”

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.

Recent Posts

F1i's Driver Ratings for the 2024 São Paulo GP

Alexander Albon, Williams (Did Not Start): 5.5/10 Alex Albon is definitely going through something of…

2 hours ago

Jos Verstappen rips British media after Brazilian Max fest

Jos Verstappen wasted no time after his son spectacular win at the São Paulo Grand…

3 hours ago

Leclerc left with ‘mixed feelings’ after disappointing Sao Paulo GP

Charles Leclerc's weekend in Sao Paulo was unfortunately a stark contrast to Ferrari's recent triumphs…

5 hours ago

Back when Kimi knew exactly what he was doing

Twelve years ago on this day, Kimi Raikkonen took a popular win at the 2012…

7 hours ago

Mercedes fined for starting grid tyre pressure infringement

The Mercedes team was hit with a fine by the FIA after Sunday’s Sao Paulo…

7 hours ago

Hamilton’s woes deepen after battling ‘plank of wood’ car in Brazil

Despite his best efforts, a lowly tenth-place finish was as good as it got for…

9 hours ago