Monaco was a forgettable race for Mercedes especially during the pit-stops. While Lewis Hamilton lost three places because he was called in too soon, Valtteri Bottas’ pit stop turned out to be worse. Bottas’ race would come to an early end because the team would fail to remove one of his tyres due to a machined wheel-nut. In the aftermath, team principal Toto Wolff had suggested that Bottas had also played a role in the pit-stop mishap as he hadn’t stopped in the designated spot and that had forced the mechanic to use his wrench at an angle leading to the machined wheel nut. Bottas has now responded to this while addressing the media during Thursday’s press conference

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0:00 - Does Bottas Agree With Wolff Blaming Him For Botched Pit Stop?
2:09 - Fast Feed

Bottas began by talking about his mental strength being tested

“In the beginning of the season, definitely the mental strength has been tested. It's not been the easiest ride to start with, in the last few races, having two DNFs. So, I would say there have been setbacks and it's all about how you bounce back from those and how you move forward”

“The loser option is to give up and it's not something I'm going to do. So still keeping very strong mentally and knowing that it's a long, long season ahead and for sure many good battles to come and hopefully many wins”

Bottas then responded to Wolff’s analysis that he hadn’t stopped in the right spot during the failed pitstop

“Yes, I was surprised! I saw the video and for me, it was pretty spot on where I stopped, so yeah, I was quite surprised”

He then elaborated on how he had already had concerns with regards to pit-stops and that he had raised those concerns with the team a few weeks ago

“As a matter of fact, [pit stops were] one of my concerns already a few weeks [before] that I'd raised to the team, so it didn't come from somewhere out of the blue. We knew that we were not perfect in pit stops, as we've seen, and also other areas like tyre warm-up in qualifying”

He signed off by reiterating that his accuracy was pretty good

“I think I was, like, 2-3cm off the central line, and if you get that accuracy, normally it's pretty good. It can easily swing by 10-15cm, so I thought it was pretty spot-on”


Fast Feed

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has reiterated that “winning Monaco is very special, but [they] want to be in this exact position in Abu Dhabi, which [he knows] will be very hard”

He added that “[Baku] is very different [to Monaco as Baku] has a bit more space, it’s very slippery around here”

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton pointed out that “it is hot [in Baku]. There are multiple reasons why [Mercedes] aren’t great at Monaco”

Similarly, “there are some tight sections [in Baku] where [they] will physically just lose out. But in the past here, [they’ve] been OK. So, [he hopes] this weekend it is close”

Alpine’s Fernando Alonso is “happy with Sundays [but] not happy with Saturdays” since his return to F1 this year

He further pointed out how he has “been in the points two times, and the three times [he] wasn’t in the points, [they’ve] finished a few tenths off the points”

He is “not too worried in terms of performance. And in terms of happiness, or how [he feels] coming back, it’s better than expected”

He added that “the two years out of the sport was needed for [him] after 18 seasons in Formula 1 non-stop. The full dedication, it was too demanding at one point”

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton feels that “it doesn't really matter what [he thinks] about” Red Bull’s flexible rear wings

He added that “it is what it is. They're approved based on current testing methods and they're valid this weekend. So [Mercedes] can't do much against it”

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, meanwhile, “can understand people complaining, but it's all within the rules so far”

“There's nothing wrong with it. Of course, [other teams] try to slow [them] down” Max suggested

He also thinks that they “have to look at the whole picture. The most important and dominant part of the car is the front and [Red Bull’s doesn't] bend there as much as other teams”

McLaren driver Lando Norris’ “focus is on this weekend and getting a top-three result again”

He also added that he “wasn't even aware of” the statistic that he is the only driver on the grid who has a top 10 finish in every race since the Italian GP last year

Norris added that “it sounds good. Hopefully, that doesn't jinx it”

He also revealed that “this year's car is different. You have to drive it differently and [he’s] still learning at every race”

“The transition from 2020 to 2021 was not easy. And [he] can't drive the car the way [he] would like to. You have to adapt to that” Norris stated


Will Norris be on the podium in Baku?