Bottas backed Mercedes’ call to stay out

Valtteri Bottas says he was on the same page as Mercedes when it came to the decision to leave him out on the track while those around him pitted behind the Safety Car at Silverstone.

Bottas was leading the grand prix when Mercedes decided not to come in for a second stop when the Safety Car was brought out for Marcus Ericsson‘s crash.

However, those around him, especially Sebastian Vettel, did pit for new tyres.

And while Bottas did his level best to hold off the charging Ferrari, Vettel eventually got him and the win.

Bottas finished P4 as he also lost out to Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen.

He, however, says at the time it felt like the right decision.

“At that point just before the Safety Car our pace was very strong compared to Ferrari and I was closing on Sebastian,” he said.

“We had an advantage at the end of the first stint and the second stint was going to be very long for both of us.

“We knew a one-stop was not going to be easy but decided to take that risk and try to take the win. Unfortunately, that stint on the Medium tyres was just a bit too long.

“It’s always easy to judge these things in hindsight, but at the point we made the call to stay out I was on the same page.

“I could have easily taken second place today, but we decided to go for it. I will continue to give it everything and I’m sure that one day it will work out.”

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