Valtteri Bottas is fully focused on the race this weekend at the Belgian Grand Prix after an engine penalty means he will start at the back of the gird on Sunday.
The Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport driver has the new ‘spec three’ engine this weekend but due to issues earlier in the season, it means he will start at the back.
Despite the setback, Bottas was pleased with how the car is feeling at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps and he improved throughout the day to finish third fastest in the afternoon session.
“In general, the car felt pretty good today,” said Bottas. “The balance was slightly off in the beginning of the day, but we managed to correct that so that the car felt nice pretty much everywhere on the track.
“The lower speed sections were a little more challenging for us, as we struggled a bit with traction coming out of the corners.”
The title race is still very tight between Mercedes and Scuderia Ferrari and Bottas admits that Ferrari do look quicker but come qualifying, expects Mercedes to be close to them.
“Ferrari looked a little bit quicker in some corner combinations like Turn 5 to Turn 7, but I don’t think we’re far off,” said the Finn.
“However, it’s always difficult to make any detailed predictions on Friday for the weekend as it is usually really close in Qualifying.”
Bottas has been able to set the car up fully for the race and is feeling confident he can make a charge through the field on Sunday.
“In terms of set-up it is usually a compromise between Qualifying and the race; but given my grid penalty this weekend, the focus for me will obviously be the race,” said Bottas. “Fortunately, the long-run pace felt good and I am confident that it is possible to come up through the field here in Spa.
“The new engine also felt good today, so I’m looking forward to the race – it should be fun.”
