Motorsport Week
  • Formula 1
    • 2025 Formula 1 Calendar
    • 2025 Formula 1 Standings
  • Formula E
    • 2025 Formula E Calendar
    • 2025 Formula E Standings
  • IndyCar
    • 2025 IndyCar Calendar
    • 2025 IndyCar Standings
  • WRC
    • 2025 WRC Standings
    • 2025 WRC Calendar
  • MotoGP
    • 2025 MotoGP Calendar
    • 2025 MotoGP Standings
    • Moto2
    • Moto3
  • WEC
    • 2025 WEC Calendar
  • IMSA
    • 2025 IMSA Calendar
  • World SBK
  • More
    • Formula 2
    • Formula 3
    • F1 Academy
    • Moto2
    • Moto3
    • World Superbikes
    • Technical Insight
    • Galleries
    • About/Contact
    • Privacy Policy
No Result
View All Result
  • Formula 1
    • 2025 Formula 1 Calendar
    • 2025 Formula 1 Standings
  • Formula E
    • 2025 Formula E Calendar
    • 2025 Formula E Standings
  • IndyCar
    • 2025 IndyCar Calendar
    • 2025 IndyCar Standings
  • WRC
    • 2025 WRC Standings
    • 2025 WRC Calendar
  • MotoGP
    • 2025 MotoGP Calendar
    • 2025 MotoGP Standings
    • Moto2
    • Moto3
  • WEC
    • 2025 WEC Calendar
  • IMSA
    • 2025 IMSA Calendar
  • World SBK
  • More
    • Formula 2
    • Formula 3
    • F1 Academy
    • Moto2
    • Moto3
    • World Superbikes
    • Technical Insight
    • Galleries
    • About/Contact
    • Privacy Policy
No Result
View All Result
Motorsport Week
Home Single Seater Formula 1

Bottas was expecting a ‘big battle’ against Russell before pit stop blunder

by Fergal Walsh
5 years ago
A A
3
Bottas was expecting a ‘big battle’ against Russell before pit stop blunder
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas says he was expecting a wheel-to-wheel battle for the win against team-mate George Russell towards the end of the Sakhir Grand Prix before the team’s pit stop error hindered their fight.

Russell and Bottas were running in first and second place respectively for much of the race, and both pitted when a Safety Car was called on Lap 63.

In a flurry of confusion, Russell was fitted with tyres from Bottas’ allocation, meaning he had to stop again on the following lap to correct the mistake. Subsequently, Bottas’ pit stop was almost 30 seconds long, causing him to drop out of the podium positions.

Bottas was catching Russell before the mishap as they both ran the Hard tyre, and was confident he would have been able to launch an attack on the Briton for the win.

RelatedPosts

The Race Makers were on hand to assist a record crowd at the 2025 F1 British GP

The Race Makers: The stars behind the scenes at Silverstone

8 hours ago
Christian Horner was emotional as he expressed Red Bull staff

Christian Horner’s parting speech to Red Bull F1 staff revealed

11 hours ago

“I knew that in the first stint, with the Medium tyre, track position would be important, so it was unfortunate to lose that,” Bottas said.

“But on the second stint I was catching him at a pretty decent rate, so I knew everything was still open and, most likely, we could have a big battle.

“Nothing really surprising there. He obviously did a mistake-free race, but that was nothing unexpected. I still believed everything was to be played for, especially towards the end of the stint on the Hard tyres.”

Bottas was fitted with old Hard tyres during the calamity-filled pit stop, leaving him vulnerable in the final laps to cars behind.

“Obviously, a big mistake from the team that will analyse and learn from,” the Finn said. “I think that was the main thing.

“It was a nightmare, I was on the old Hard tyre, that had already lost a lot of temperature in the pit stop, against the guys that were on fresh Medium tyres, so I was like a sitting duck. It was a pretty nightmarish situation.”

Bottas ended the race in eighth place, the second consecutive grand prix he has finished in that position. Mercedes was fined €20,000 for the pit stop gaffe.

Tags: F1George RussellMercedesSakhirGPValtteri Bottas
Share199Tweet125Share

Related Posts

The Race Makers were on hand to assist a record crowd at the 2025 F1 British GP
Feature

The Race Makers: The stars behind the scenes at Silverstone

8 hours ago
Christian Horner was emotional as he expressed Red Bull staff
Formula 1

Christian Horner’s parting speech to Red Bull F1 staff revealed

11 hours ago
Paddock atmosphere - Red Bull Racing logo at sunset. 21.03.2025. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 2, Chinese Grand Prix, Shanghai, China, Sprint Qualifying Day
Formula 1

Red Bull sees further dismissals from F1 team amid Christian Horner exit

11 hours ago
Load More

Comments 3

  1. wmcot says:
    5 years ago

    If we ignore the botched pitstop, Bottas didn’t really have a clean race. Lots of little errors including a somewhat or start. I think playing second to Lewis has demoralized him to some extent and to find himself behind Russell at the start surely didn’t help his confidence. Let’s see if he can regroup or if this may be a good time for him to move to a team where he can get equal treatment and a new outlook on life.

    Reply
  2. Trocadero says:
    5 years ago

    “Valtteri; George is faster than you!”

    Williams/Mercedes swap anyone?

    Reply
  3. Chrono Cream says:
    2 weeks ago

    Their formula development labs are located near geomantic ley lines that amplify plant consciousness.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Upcoming Races

#EventDate
13Belgian GP25-27 July
14Hungarian GP01-03 August
15Dutch GP29-31 August
16Italian GP05-07 September
17Azerbaijan GP19-21 September

Click here for the full 2025 F1 calendar

Drivers’  Standings

#DriverPts
Oscar Piastri234
Lando Norris226
Max Verstappen165
George Russell147
Charles Leclerc120
Lewis Hamilton103
Andrea Kimi Antonelli63
Alexander Albon44
Nico Hulkenberg37
Isack Hadjar28

Click here for full Drivers’ Standings

Latest Articles

The Race Makers were on hand to assist a record crowd at the 2025 F1 British GP
Feature

The Race Makers: The stars behind the scenes at Silverstone

July 9, 2025
Christian Horner was emotional as he expressed Red Bull staff
Formula 1

Christian Horner’s parting speech to Red Bull F1 staff revealed

July 9, 2025
Paddock atmosphere - Red Bull Racing logo at sunset. 21.03.2025. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 2, Chinese Grand Prix, Shanghai, China, Sprint Qualifying Day
Formula 1

Red Bull sees further dismissals from F1 team amid Christian Horner exit

July 9, 2025

Follow Motorsport Week

Join our daily motorsport newsletter

* indicates required

Motorsport Week

© 2024 Motorsport Media Services Ltd

Other Links

  • About & Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Motorsport Monday

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • Sign Up
  • Home
  • Formula 1
    • Latest News
    • 2025 F1 Calendar
    • 2025 F1 Championship Standings
  • Formula E
    • Latest News
    • 2025 FE Calendar
    • 2025 FE Championship Standings
  • MotoGP
    • Latest News
    • 2025 MotoGP Calendar
    • 2025 MotoGP Standings
    • Moto2
    • Moto3
    • World Superbikes
  • WRC
    • Latest News
    • 2025 WRC Calendar
    • 2025 WRC Standings
  • IndyCar
    • Latest News
    • 2025 IndyCar Calendar
    • 2025 IndyCar Standings
  • WEC
    • Latest News
    • 2025 WEC Calendar
  • Live Updates
  • Other
    • IMSA
    • Formula 2
    • Formula 3
    • F1 Academy
    • Moto2
    • Moto3
    • World Superbikes
  • Galleries
  • About/Contact
  • Privacy Policy

© 2024 Motorsport Media Services Ltd