Breaking news
Formula 1 British GP
Vettel had to "surprise" Bottas for race-winning move
Sebastian Vettel says he had to “surprise” Formula 1 rival Valtteri Bottas to pull off the overtake that earned him victory in the British Grand Prix.
Valentin Khorounzhiy Scott Mitchell
Edited: Jul 8, 2018, 5:35 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
A pitstop during a late-race safety car, caused by Marcus Ericsson's crash at Abbey, left long-time leader Vettel running second behind Bottas, although the German had the advantage of running fresh soft tyres against Bottas' worn mediums.
But Bottas rebuffed Vettel's attacks on the restart, and following another stoppage for a crash involving Romain Grosjean and Carlos Sainz, the Finn continued to hold his own out front – narrowly seeing off Vettel's attempts around the outside of Brooklands and Luffield.
Vettel eased off for a couple of tours but then lunged down the inside of Bottas at Brooklands on lap 47 of 52, securing the win.
“It was quite intense,” Vettel recalled after the race. “Obviously I had the advantage on the tyres, but he had clean air, so in high-speed stuff I was able to follow but it was difficult the closer I got.
“I sort of sniffed my chance already in the first laps after the restart out of Turn 4 [The Loop] and then on the Wellington straight down to Turn 6 [Brooklands].
“The final move, obviously I was able to surprise him, I think he thought that I wouldn't dare [to go down] the inside and the braking zone was coming quite fast.
”I would've liked to be closer [exiting Aintree] but I wasn't, but I still thought it's good enough to have a shot, so I gave it everything.
“I tried also the outside before, and he was very late on the brakes, and so was I, and I couldn't really go anywhere - so I thought 'okay, time to do that again, and I have to somehow surprise him.
“I think I was a little bit further back, and close to the braking zone he was covering the inside - but then still gave me a little bit of room to make the move happen.”
Vettel admitted he thought he risked overshooting the corner in making the move.
“It felt great when I was side by side - I wasn't sure if I'd make the corner but I did," he added.
“Once I was ahead, obviously I could use that advantage to pull out a gap and control the race from there. But it was crucial, it wasn't easy, they seemed to be very strong in the straights.”
Bottas began to fade soon after Vettel's last-gasp manoeuvre, and would tumble down to fourth by the chequered flag – but the German has insisted he was in no position to bide his time.
“I wanted to win, I had to go for it,” Vettel said. “Obviously I think he struggled a little bit more towards the end with his tyres but yeah, I wanted to get by as soon as possible.”
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 Mercedes' deliberate crash suggestion "silly" - Vettel
Next article Lauda: Ferrari mistakes "unfair and not funny"
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Valentin Khorounzhiy
WTCR's April opener cancelled due to coronavirus
WTCR
WTCR
Hungaroring
WTCR's April opener cancelled due to coronavirus
Australian GP issues update on nine F1 paddock coronavirus tests
Formula 1
Formula 1
Australian GP
Australian GP issues update on nine F1 paddock coronavirus tests
Motorsport Games unveils 15 disciplines for 2020
General
General
Motorsport Games unveils 15 disciplines for 2020
More from
Valtteri Bottas
Colton Herta qualifies for F1 superlicence as Valtteri Bottas remains bullish on 2027 seat
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
Colton Herta qualifies for F1 superlicence as Valtteri Bottas remains bullish on 2027 seat
Cadillac to investigate high-speed Mexico GP failure that led to angry Valtteri Bottas reaction
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mexican GP
Cadillac to investigate high-speed Mexico GP failure that led to angry Valtteri Bottas reaction
You Ask The Questions: Valtteri Bottas
Formula 1
Canadian GP
You Ask The Questions: Valtteri Bottas
More from
Ferrari
Max Verstappen on Ferrari clashes: "I would never sign two number-one drivers"
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
Max Verstappen on Ferrari clashes: "I would never sign two number-one drivers"
What the Brazilian GP revealed about F1's ability to cope with rain
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
What the Brazilian GP revealed about F1's ability to cope with rain
Latest news
Sebastien Bourdais hopes latest WEC success will remind teams of his value
WEC
WEC WEC
Monza
47 min
Sebastien Bourdais hopes latest WEC success will remind teams of his value
"It's horribly painful" - Williams drops 2026 car upgrades to benefit 2027
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
1 h
"It's horribly painful" - Williams drops 2026 car upgrades to benefit 2027
Iker Lecuona felt significant differences between Ducati's GP25 and GP26
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Qatar GP
3 h
Iker Lecuona felt significant differences between Ducati's GP25 and GP26
Feature
Discover prime content
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Formula 1
By Kevin Turner
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
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