"Small details" will make the difference in Eifel GP says polesitter Bottas

Eifel Grand Prix

"Small details" will make the difference in Eifel GP says polesitter Bottas

Bottas will start from pole for the third time this season

Sam Hall

Saturday 10 October 2020 19:01 Updated: 19:10

Valtteri Bottas believes it is the "small details" that will make or break whether he turns his 14th Formula 1 pole position into his 10th career victory.

Bottas netted top spot on the grid for the Eifel Grand Prix with a time of one minute 25.269secs, finishing a quarter-of-a-second faster than Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

After claiming victory last time out in Russia for his first win since the season-opening race in Austria, the Finn is now seeking back-to-back victories for the first time over his nine seasons in F1.

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"It is going to be a new day tomorrow and we need to focus on the small details that are going to matter and the first of those is going to be the race start," said the Finn, who has struggled on occasion this season with pulling away off the line.

"It's hard to enjoy the pole too much because tomorrow is going to be the day that really matters."

In taking pole, Bottas continued Mercedes' perfect qualifying record across the season while also ending Hamilton's five-race pole streak.

Questioned if his lap, which secured his third pole of the season, was the pick of the bunch, he replied: “It’s always a nice feeling to be on pole but with that lap, that was pretty tidy and I got all the details right.

"I was also struggling quite a bit in the first sector throughout qualifying but really in the last lap I managed to get it more or less right so that was a good feeling."

Describing the pole as "really good fun", he added: “Of course, you enjoy it when you manage to put it on pole, and especially when it’s the last lap that really counts.

"When you get a good lap and it’s enough for pole, it’s a really good feeling and one of those feelings and sensations why we do this."

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