Bottas slates Mercedes' "defensive" Bahrain strategy
Bottas finished third in the Formula 1 season-opener
Valtteri Bottas was critical of Mercedes' defensive strategy he believes cost him a shot at victory in the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Bottas finished the Formula 1 season-opener third to team-mate Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull driver Max Verstappen following their titanic scrap over the closing laps.
The margin to the lead pair was magnified by a late pit stop for fresh tyres to score the extra point for setting the fastest lap of the race, but the Finn was far from the lead battle when instructed to pit.
Declaring himself disappointed by his result, Bottas said: "A good thing as a team we got good points but from my side, it felt like, at least for me strategy-wise, we were on the defensive side rather than attacking which is not quite normal.
“Not ideal and then I had a slow pit stop which in the end took away any opportunities but I think at times the pace was good but I’m disappointed.”
Verstappen had started from pole but Bottas believed Mercedes was in a stronger position to fight for the win, with both cars qualifying inside the top three while the Dutch driver's Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez was 11th on the grid.
This position was further strengthened when a formation lap problem for Perez forced the Red Bull driver to start from the pits.
Further bemoaning the result, he added: “For sure, we managed to have the two cars in that way.
"We also had different tyre choice so we could really play with the strategy but I still think from my side there should have been more to get today.”
Related
More F1 news
Latest F1 news
Recommended by the editors
Latest F1 News
F1 star blasts 'unacceptable' Red Bull after driver sacking
Lewis Hamilton
The 'simple' fix Lewis Hamilton brought to change Ferrari's fortunes
Ferrari
How Lewis Hamilton changed Ferrari's entire 'philosophy' to bring success
F1 Analysis
Adrian Newey and Aston Martin redemption is coming and it's all thanks to F1 and the FIA
Races
-
Grand Prix of Australia 2026
-
Grand Prix of China 2026
-
Grand Prix of Japan 2026
-
Grand Prix of Bahrain 2026
-
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2026
-
Miami Grand Prix 2026
-
Grand Prix du Canada 2026
-
Grand Prix De Monaco 2026
-
Gran Premio de Barcelona-Catalunya 2026
-
Grand Prix of Austria 2026
-
Grand Prix of Great Britain 2026
-
Grand Prix of Belgium 2026
-
Grand Prix of Hungary 2026
-
Dutch Grand Prix 2026
-
Grand Prix of Italy 2026
-
Gran Premio de España 2026
-
Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2026
-
Grand Prix of Singapore 2026
-
Grand Prix of the United States 2026
-
Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2026
-
Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2026
-
Las Vegas Grand Prix 2026
-
Qatar Grand Prix 2026
-
Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2026
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Editorial & corporate information
Avenue HQ
10–12 East Parade
Leeds
LS1 2BH
United Kingdom Regional correspondence
View contact page