“It’s a Shame”: Valtteri Bottas Blames Mercedes F1 Distraction for Costly Blunder at Miami GP

For the majority of the Miami Grand Prix, Valtteri Bottas ran fifth when a late Safety Car allowed the Mercedes drivers, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, to close the gap. In the ensuing battle between the two Silver Arrows, the Alfa Romeo driver lost out due to a mistake at Turn 17 hairpin and eventually finished seventh.

Explaining his mistake, “As he (George Russell) was overtaking Lewis, I was kind of following them in the mirrors, because they were getting pretty close and I was thinking I might have to close the door or something, and I just braked a fraction too late.”

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Unfortunately for him, he braked a little later and missed the apex; that meant he understeered into the wall. He said that he was lucky he didn’t get a puncture or break anything. He added, “It’s a shame we didn’t get P5, but, still, P7 is good.”

Bottas and Alfa Romeo are thriving in 2022

While it could have been bigger points for Bottas, his recent performances have clearly shown that he was happy at Alfa Romeo. Given that he finished in the points in four of the five starts he has this season, he is thriving. 

During Friday’s practice session, it didn’t seem to go well as Bottas had crashed out. However, a super Saturday form and C42’s outright pace saw him qualify fifth on the grid, right in front of his former employer Mercedes. “I felt I had like an obligation to pay back the team with a good result,” Bottas said.

His comments then followed that the car felt best in qualifying so far in the 2022 season. Furthermore, the result in Miami reaffirmed the mentality that both Valtteri and the team are trying for the best of the rest in the midfield. 

Sunday’s race also meant that the new upgrades are working. A re-profiled rear bodywork intended to help diffuser performance along with changes to the brake ducts for aero reasons and revised geometry at the front of the floor were the new bits. Alfa Romeo’s Head of Trackside Engineering, Xevi Pujolar, said that the Miami track played to the strengths of the car. 

“It’s a track where we have quite a high content of low-speed corners and on that one, we knew that we are reasonably OK,” he commented.

“But the conditions are quite extreme with the temperature so it has been quite difficult for everyone,” Pujolar added.

This season will be interesting to see if Alfa Romeo can sustain this trajectory ahead.