Formula 1 Miami GP
Distracted Bottas explains reason for Miami F1 wall brush
Valtteri Bottas says that the brush with the wall that cost his fifth position in the Miami Grand Prix occurred because he was distracted by the battling Mercedes duo in his mirrors.
Charles Bradley
Edited: May 10, 2022, 10:59 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Alfa Romeo driver Bottas ran fifth for the majority of the inaugural race around the new Hard Rock Stadium track but says "everything changed" when the safety car was called to retrieve the stranded McLaren of Lando Norris after his clash with AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly.
That not only allowed the Mercedes cars behind him to close up while George Russell was able to make a 'free' pitstop and switched to new medium tyres.
As the Mercedes duo battled behind him, Bottas admitted he was distracted and missed his braking point for the Turn 17 hairpin with seven laps to go. He clipped the wall, losing two spots, but recovered to finish in seventh.
"Everything was going really smoothly, I was hoping for that kind of race, until the safety car," he rued afterwards.
"But then George had the possibility to stop for fresh mediums and he was really closing in quickly.
"As he 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.
"I missed the apex just a tiny bit, and then I got onto the dirty tarmac and, even though I was going slowly, I understeered into the wall. Luckily it didn't break anything or give me a puncture."
When asked if he could have held Hamilton at bay to finish fifth without the safety car, he replied: "I don't see why not. When George got the fresh tyres, then it changed everything, so [it was] a bit unlucky for me that safety car but that's how it is."
Read Also:
- The drivers' parade secret behind Alonso’s flying Miami F1 start
- Perez thinks Miami F1 win was on if not for engine issue
- Russell admits he was "fortunate" with Miami F1 safety car gamble
Despite this late disappointment, Bottas said he was encouraged by his C42's pace and consistency – especially in light of his heavy crash in free practice 1 on Friday.
"It was a good recovery from Friday," he said, "And the race pace was very close to Mercedes so it is good to see that we can really fight with them.
"It's a shame we didn't get P5 but, still, P7 is good."
Bottas, who is eighth in points after four points finishes from five starts, also said this was a race that demonstrated a shift in Alfa's mentality to compete at the head of the midfield pack.
He added: "It was a race where there was no DNFs in front of me. It was fighting for fifth position with this car here, and then we'll see in Barcelona, where we'll try to bring some new bits."
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Russell admits he was "fortunate" with Miami F1 safety car gamble
Next article Vettel: Schumacher Miami GP F1 collision "stupid for both of us"
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Charles Bradley
Mika Hakkinen on his darkest day in F1
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mika Hakkinen on his darkest day in F1
Dillon: Spotter was “wrong” to shout “wreck him!” before Hamlin clash
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Richmond II
Dillon: Spotter was “wrong” to shout “wreck him!” before Hamlin clash
Hamlin: NASCAR stripping Dillon of win would be “warranted”
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Richmond II
Hamlin: NASCAR stripping Dillon of win would be “warranted”
Latest news
Cleetus McFarland set to compete full-time for 2027 ARCA championship
ARCA
ARCA ARCA 48 min
Cleetus McFarland set to compete full-time for 2027 ARCA championship
IndyCar veteran Sting Ray Robb secures United Autosports Asian Le Mans seat
IndyCar
Indy IndyCar 3 h
IndyCar veteran Sting Ray Robb secures United Autosports Asian Le Mans seat
Five things to look out for at the F1 Mexico GP
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Mexican GP
5 h
Five things to look out for at the F1 Mexico GP
Every time NASCAR took a win away due yellow line violations
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Talladega II
6 h
Every time NASCAR took a win away due yellow line violations
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe