F1 | Bottas: “Difficult to find the right pace in Qualifying”

Third place for Valtteri Bottas on the starting grid of Barcelona. The Finnish of Mercedes will start from the second row, flanked by Kimi Raikkonen. Just like those Ferrari, the Finn's mechanics also performed a true miracle in Free Practice 3, given that the driver Mercedes he spent practically the entire session in the pits, while on his W08 the old power unit was reassembled – following a water leak on the new one.

“I think the team did a great job with the car, managing to keep me in the fight Ferrari“, commented the Finn at the end of the day. “For most of the weekend we were the fastest, so it was only in Q3 that we found ourselves in a bit of difficulty, at least as far as I'm concerned. Starting the day by refitting the old engine meant always being a bit on the defensive, and during Qualifying I really struggled with rear stability: this was the main problem."

“It was difficult to find the right rhythm between one Qualifying and the next, as normally happens. Every lap the car was a little different. It wasn't one of my best performances but I'm really happy with the work the team did, and also Lewis was really strong today. The race, as always, is on Sunday and in the past I have had good results starting from third", he concluded hopefully Bottas.