Valtteri Bottas left frustrated by overheating issues in Australia

Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas was left frustrated by high engine temperatures through the Australian Grand Prix, impacting on his recovery drive through the field.

The Finn was forced to start the race from 15th on the grid due to a gearbox change after a hefty crash in the final part of qualifying left his W09 heavily damaged.

Starting so far back in the pack meant Bottas picked up more dirty air than usual, accentuating cooling requirements, and leaving him unable to utilise the strength of the Mercedes package.

"It was a bit of a frustrating day, said the Finn. "I got some points, but not as many as I was hoping for, even starting 15th on the grid.

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"We had a good car, it felt just like in qualifying, the team did a really good job on that. Unfortunately, we just couldn't make anything out of it because it is so difficult to overtake on this track.

"I also struggled a bit with overheating issues on the engine when I was following other cars, so I had to back off many times. It's been a disappointing weekend and certainly not an ideal first race, but we still have 20 races to go.

"We need to learn from this weekend and try again in two weeks in Bahrain."

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff mentioned it was always going to be a hard race for Bottas, he sympathised with his driver given his situation around the Albert Park circuit which is synonymous for being one of the hardest circuits of on the calendar for overtaking.

"On Valtteri's side, we knew this would be a tough race to make up much ground. The margins between teams are closing up and this is one of the most difficult circuits to overtake on in the entire season. He made three passes on track and benefited from the VSC too, but then was stuck in a DRS train in the final laps."