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Valtteri Bottas had a quiet race in Bahrain on Sunday, but he managed to be apart of a Mercedes one-two for the second time in the 2019 Formula 1 season.
Bottas believes a plastic bag caused him to lose performance in the second half as he summed up his race to Autosport.
"I had a plastic bag stuck on my front wing at some point, which was costing performance, so not the perfect race," Bottas said.
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As he did in Melbourne, Bottas managed to get off the start line well as he climbed places, but the Australian Grand Prix winner slipped back down on the second lap. The Finn tries to explain what happened.
"I think the wind caught me up a bit, I braked a bit too late into Turn 1, trying to keep my position, and I lost two places," Bottas added.
"Ferrari, ultimately, was very, very strong again. During the times with the wind, I ended up doing some mistakes like I think some other drivers did as well. It was extremely difficult to keep the rhythm. I managed to save the engine at some point when there was no threat from behind and a big gap in front."
Bottas currently leads the championship by a single point after picking up the fastest lap award in Australia. This weekends bonus point went into the hands of Charles Leclerc, but Bottas wanted to stress how important the single point is.
"They are points that will count at the end of the championship. Obviously, now, at this point, it doesn't matter much but what matters is at the end of the championship and we've seen many championships finishing with very small margins," Bottas concluded.
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Miami Grand Prix
Overview
Friday 01.05.26
Practice 1
04:00 PM
Sprint Qualification
08:30 PM
Saturday 02.05.26
Sprint Race
04:00 PM
Qualification
08:00 PM
Sunday 03.05.26
Race
08:00 PM
Friday 01.05.26
Practice 1
Fri 04:00 PM
Sprint Qualification
Fri 08:30 PM
Saturday 02.05.26
Sprint Race
Sat 04:00 PM
Qualification
Sat 08:00 PM
Sunday 03.05.26
Race
Sun 08:00 PM
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F1-stand 2026
Season
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | MercedesMER | 72 | |
2 | MercedesMER | 63 | |
3 | FerrariFER | 49 | |
4 | FerrariFER | 41 | |
5 | McLarenMCL | 25 | |
6 | McLarenMCL | 21 | |
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9 | Red Bull RacingRBR | 12 | |
10 | Racing BullsRCB | 10 |
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