2020 Tuscan Grand Prix, Thursday – Steve Etherington
After being on top in every free practice session this weekend, Valtteri Bottas again missed out on pole at the Tuscan Grand Prix qualifying.
Bottas didn’t manage to beat Lewis Hamilton in his first Q3 run and then yellow flags ruined his last chance to try and snatch pole from his team-mate.
“It had been a good start to the week and good free practice sessions, including today,” said Bottas.
“After practice three, I was still looking at all the things I could improve for the qualifying, and everything was going nice and smooth in Q1 and Q2.
“The lap in Q3 first lap wasn’t quite good enough, so I also felt there was definitely time still to be found, and I was confident of myself doing it.
“Obviously there was no chance with the double yellows in the second run, so in the end I should have just done a better job in the first run.
“Lewis managed to find the pace, and his first run was better than mine. So that’s it.
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“There’s still all to play for. Of course it would have been nice to start from pole. But still, it’s one of the longest runs of this season into Turn 1.
“If the headwind stays, the tow is going to be quite powerful into Turn 1. I’ll try to turn my thoughts into the race.”
The Tuscan Grand Prix will mark the first time the Mugello Circuit will host an F1 race. The Finn relishes the challenge.
“It’s one of the most physical tracks, but I really like it,” Bottas explained.
“That’s how it should be. I like a bit of pain, so it’s always good fun.
“In the end like in the qualifying lap, you’re so focused that you don’t really feel any pain. You definitely notice after the lap that you’ve done something.”
