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Bottas qualifies in P8: We will have to investigate

Bottas qualifies in P8: "We will have to investigate"

17-04-2021 15:48
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Valtteri Bottas topped both FP1 and FP2 on Friday, but he failed to make an impression when it really mattered in qualifying. Ahead of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Imola, Bottas will "investigate" what happened. He will start in P8, leaving teammate Lewis Hamilton alone in the battle against Red Bull. 

Bottas was running with Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton at the top of the timesheets but ended up around half a second behind Hamilton. The 31-year-old explains the difficulties he had with the car. 

"Today was a little bit confusing and I don't understand the Q3 performance yet. On the first run of Q3, I had oversteer and then on the second run, the rear end was not so good. Not what I was aiming for today, especially with the feeling I had at the start of qualifying," Bottas said. 

"Q3 first run, I went into turn two and had a really sudden snap from the rear end and I lost a lot of time. The same in run two, I couldn't trust the rear end. That isn't something I felt in Q1 or Q2 so it's difficult to understand - we will have to investigate. Overtaking here is difficult with a narrow track but I will fight to give it everything tomorrow."

Bad news for Mercedes

Mercedes will be happy to clinch pole position, but this Grand Prix marks a bit of role reversal. Usually, Verstappen is the lone Red Bull driver attacking two Mercedes. However, Hamilton is left alone and second-placed driver Sergio Perez will be starting on the quicker soft tyres.