F1 News
Suggestion of Wolff surprised Bottas: 'The car was placed almost perfect'
- GPblog.com
Valtteri Bottas was forced to retire in Monaco because the wheel nut on his right front wheel failed to loosen during a pit stop. After the crash at Imola, this was the second time this season that the Finn was unable to finish a race. The problem in Monaco was not the fault of the Finn as Mercedes analysts tell us. Bottas knew this beforehand as well, so he was a bit surprised by Wolff's suggestion that he hadn't set up the car properly.
I was surprised
During the press conference in Baku, the Finn looked back at the situation in Monaco which cost him precious points. After the race, team principal Toto Wolff suggested that Bottas had not positioned the car exactly where he wanted it to be, which is why loosening the wheel nut went wrong. Bottas was proven wrong, but he found it a bit odd.
"Yes, I was surprised", Bottas tells Motorsport.com. "I saw the video and in my mind, I stopped almost in the perfect place. So I was quite surprised." It's all about centimetre work and the Finn was within the margins, one can tell from his words. "We analysed everything in detail and we know that as a team we probably could have done better, also with the pit stop."
Previously raised
Mercedes are having a bit of a hard time with pit stops this year anyway, something he has already voiced to the team. The situation in Monaco - frustrating though it was - was not entirely a surprise. Bottas: "So it didn't come completely out of the blue, we knew we weren't perfect at the pit stops. The same goes for other areas, like warming up the tyres in qualifying."
"I knew prior to Monaco that it was going to be a problem and it's one of the issues I raised for that weekend." Bottas, therefore, saw his concern become a reality, but after analysing and discussing the issues, the driver is confident again. "I think the team totally understands now and we've made adjustments so hopefully we won't have to go through this again."