Valtteri Bottas was naturally downbeat to end his Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with just six laps in the books as a rear suspension issue saw him return to the pits and into retirement on Sunday.
The Williams Martini Racing drive was running inside the top ten in the early laps having started in eleventh, enjoying a short battle with team-mate Felipe Massa, before issues with his suspension caused his car to start ‘bouncing’ on track, which made it undriveable.
Bottas had hoped the team could fix the issue so he could return to the circuit, but ultimately it was unfixable, and the Finn is now turning his focus to 2017, where he will be joined in the team by Canadian teenager Lance Stroll.
“It is disappointing to finish the race after only a few laps,” admitted Bottas. “When I was running P9, I felt something suddenly break in the rear of the car with the suspension and the car was pretty undriveable after that.
“We tried to fix it in the garage, but it was not possible so we had to retire. It is a shame to end the season like this, but it does mean that I’m now very much looking forward to next year.”
