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Valtteri Bottas denies that he is buckling under pressure in the fight for the 2019 world championship.
At the last three races, Bottas has been slipping backwards in terms of results, finishing second, third and fourth in Spain, Monaco and Canada respectively.
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Bottas denies that he is feeling any pressure and is confident that the results in the previous handful of races have nothing to do with tension he is feeling.
"I have no pressure," Bottas affirmed. "I'm happy about the situation and how the season has been going. I'm enjoying it.
"In qualifying [in Canada] I made a mistake and I perhaps was trying to much to recover that. That can happen. I wouldn't say anything from the last few races or this weekend is to do with pressure."
Canada slump was a 'wake-up call'
Bottas says that his slump in Canada was a "wake-up call" in the fight for the 2019 world championship.
Bottas' qualifying efforts in Q3 were knocked by a number of mistakes, as he aborted his first run when he spun at Turn 2.
On his next attempt, the Finn locked up a number of times throughout the lap to set the sixth fastest time, while Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton secured a front row start alongside Sebastian Vettel.
“I felt really good in Q1, Q2," Bottas said. "From Q2 I had a clear idea of how and where to improve. I was really confident. And then it really came down to a silly mistake.”
Bottas added that he can't continue to have weekends like Canada if he wishes to pose a serious threat in the fight for the world championship.
“I can’t afford these kind of weekends if I’m going to fight for the title. So it’s not ideal but I have to move on. Maybe a bit of a wake-up call again, for sure I can always learn from that," Bottas appended.
Grand Prix of Belgium
G. Zhou
Replies (5)
Login to replyf1fan0101
Posts: 1,804
Maybe not, but he needs to improve quickly or face the consequences
xoya
Posts: 583
He isn't buckling, but his result is something that would happen to Hamilton only if there was a technical problem involved. If his title charge is to be taken seriously he cannot let it happen as regularly as it does.
In my book though, he is a "Barrichello", not a "Rosberg". Not bad, but not good enough.
Pistonhead
Posts: 556
Agree - Rosberg ultimately had it in him to get it done, Bottas needs to be on his A game all weekend to beat his partner, I hope he gets it together next race.
ajpennypacker
Posts: 2,475
@Xoya uh that's rough. To me calling a driver a "Barrichello" is the ultimate pejorative. Bottas is no Rosberg, but I do think he's several levels better than Barrichello. Still, I never thought that Bottas could really go head-to-head against Hamilton over a season.
motorthread
Posts: 33
His form seems to have slipped. I reckon he needs a bigger beard!