Monaco Grand Prix

Bottas "gutted" to see potential Monaco GP pole stolen by Leclerc crash

Will Gray Saturday 22 May 2021 16:17 Updated: 16:28

Valtteri Bottas was left “gutted” after being prevented from completing a potentially pole-setting run in Monaco qualifying after Charles Leclerc crashed his Ferrari at the end of Saturday’s final session.

With Mercedes struggling for pace this weekend and Lewis Hamilton far from his usual form, it left Bottas as the team’s leading driver in the chase for pole position.

That all ended when Ferrari driver Leclerc, who was ahead on the timesheet, hit the barrier exiting the swimming pool complex, stopping the session with 18 seconds remaining.

“For me, it's disappointing I didn’t get my last run with the red flag,” said Bottas. “That’s how it is sometimes. I left everything out there for the last run. We should have had a shot for pole in the last run.

“The first run wasn’t really enough for pole but on the second run, with the lap we did, it was feeling good so I’m gutted.”

Bottas will start third behind Leclerc and second-placed Max Verstappen in his Red Bull but feels he is in a good position to capitalise on the improvements Mercedes has made to his car set-up.

“I think we made good progress through the weekend with the car and definitely happier with it in qualifying,” added Bottas. “We will try everything we can for the race tomorrow. It’s Monaco and anything can happen.”

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