Valtteri Bottas admitted he was hoping to qualify higher up the grid for the Spanish Grand Prix, but the Williams Martini Racing driver was forced to settle for seventh.
The Finnish driver’s time of 1m23.522s was just over 1.5 seconds back on the pole position time set my Mercedes AMG PETRONAS driver Lewis Hamilton during Saturday’s qualifying session, and although disappointed with his grid position, he was happy with his lap during the final phase of qualifying that took him to seventh.
Bottas admitted it was a shame for team-mate Felipe Massa to be eliminated during the first phase of qualifying and to qualify down eighteenth position, and is hopeful both he and his Brazilian team-mate can make up positions during Sunday’s race at the Circuit de Catalunya.
“I was hoping for a bit better result, but it was a good lap so I am pleased with how we did in Q3,” said Bottas. “It’s a shame about Felipe.
“Tomorrow, we need to set the bar high and aim to be in the top five in the race. It’s possible with a good start and our strategy, so we’ll try to make up as many places as we can.”
