Bottas repays mechanics’ hard work with P5 starting spot in Miami
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Valtteri Bottas feels he owed it to Alfa Romeo to put in a good performance in qualifying after crashing in Friday practice, and duly delivered fifth on the grid for the Miami Grand Prix.
A spin at Turn 8 saw Bottas go into the wall backwards and heavily damage his car in Friday’s first session, resulting in him missing FP2 and crucial track time at a new circuit. After edging through Q1, Bottas improved throughout qualifying to secure a top-five grid slot and he says the way he built up to the final lap was particularly satisfying.
“I felt like I had an obligation to pay the team back with a good result,” Bottas said. “I think we can be pleased with the recovery we did from yesterday because I missed so much running.
“We had a good FP3 just focusing on the priorities, getting the setup right, and then it was really up to me to find the rhythm. Lap by lap I could find things here and there because I had some catching up to do, compared to other drivers, so I’m pleased with the way it ended. I had my best lap of the weekend on the last lap of Q3.”
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Given the lack of running on Friday, Bottas says the car was the best it has been all season — competitive enough over one lap to beat former team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
“Performance-wise, in qualifying, yes, I think [it’s the best]. But coming here I knew that this track layout could be quite OK for us. I think it proved we still have a good car in low-speed corners and we’re pretty good on the straights as well.
“It’s a great atmosphere and, again, when I heard the result from my engineer I could hear the guys cheering in the garage, in the background, almost like being on pole. It’s quite refreshing, in a way, and the atmosphere is good and we can actually enjoy it the right way.”
Bottas doesn’t expect any surprises in race trim despite missing out on Friday’s long running, as a number of red flag interruptions ensured nobody had clean race simulations.
“We got a mini-long run, at least to get a feel for the balance in FP3, at the end with high fuel, so I don’t think we’ve missed that much because there were red flags in FP2 when people were doing their long runs. I think that, normally, we have quite a good race car. The car is not any worse in the races than it is in qualifying, compared to the others.”