© Steve Etherington for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.
Here is the transcript of the Post 2021 Monaco Grand Prix Qualifying track interviews and press conference featuring Valtteri Bottas.
TRACK INTERVIEWS
(Conducted by Paul Di Resta)
Q: ….Obviously your last lap didn’t count but lining up P3, could be P2 depending on Leclerc’s damage?
Valtteri BOTTAS: To be honest I didn’t hear anything you said, but for me it’s disappointing that I didn’t get my last run with the red flag, but that’s how it is sometimes. But I kind of left everything out there for the last run. The first one wasn’t really enough for pole but in the second run, with the prep laps we did, actually I was feeling good and I was quite a bit down on my lap time. I’m gutted.
Q: It looks like it’s been a very difficult weekend for you and Mercedes; you’ve been trying a lot of different set-ups. Did you get the car how you wanted it for qualifying?
VB: I think we made good progress throughout the weekend with the car and definitely happier with it in qualifying and we should have had a shot at the pole in the last run. Yeah, we will try everything we can tomorrow in the race. It’s Monaco and anything can happen.
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PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Valtteri, I’ve just said that Mercedes are seemingly on the back foot this weekend in Monaco. Is that true?
VB: I would say, yeah. We’ve seen since the practice on Thursday and still this morning that our relative performance to Red Bull and also Ferrari is not quite what it has been in the recent races – but it’s a unique track. Different kind of characteristics from the car. What I’m proud of is the progress that we’ve managed to make. By the time of qualifying, the car was feeling a lot better than it did in practice and even since this morning I was more comfortable with the car and actually I really felt there was a shot for pole position, which was completely out of reach in practice. That’s why it was disappointing at the end with the red flag, because I felt there was a good lap on the way.
Q: What have been your main issues with the car?
VB: We’ve struggled a bit with the tyre warm-up and in the end decided to go for prep lap and then timed lap and that felt to be the best and ultimately I couldn’t try that in the end. But, yeah, I would say tyre warm-up is the biggest issue we have and still balance-wise, a bit of understeer in Sector Two. It’s not big things but the gaps are small and small things matter.
Q: And do you think you’ve got the long-run pace to challenge these guys tomorrow?
VB: I think we have a good race car. I think so. Not that it helps here! If there’s a train, we’ll see.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Scott Mitchell – The Race) Question to all three please, because this kind of incident usually triggers these kind of questions from fans. In IndyCar, if a driver causes a red flag in qualifying, they lose their best two laps from that segment. To all of you, would it be fairer to have that rule in F1, or is it just part of the game that this happens and would therefore be unfair to punish a genuine mistake like the one Charles made?
VB: I think the regulation is fine. I mean, it is what it is. Sometimes in sport things don’t place into your hands. Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes unlucky and that’s what happens.
Q: (Christian Menath – motorsport-magazin.com) Question for Max and for Valtteri. Max, we’ve seen you have a proper Sector 1. What did the delta time on your dash say until the red flag came – were you still ahead. And also for Valtteri, what did your dash say until that point?
Max VERSTAPPEN: Yeah, I was one-and-a-half tenths up before going into the tunnel, and I knew on the previous lap I made a mistake in Turns 10-11, where I lost more than a tenth. So, I knew that pole position was on, especially on the second timed lap. I had a lot more grip on the tyres, so even the last sector normally would have been an improvement – but that’s would-have, should-have, could-have. I don’t’ really care about that. The fact is there was a red flag. It is what it is.
VB: The same thing for me. I think I was in Turn 6 or 7, one-and-a-half tenths up. If and If. That’s what it is.
Source: FIA.com
