Bottas ‘can’t be happy with fourth’ on grid

Valtteri Bottas has admitted that he “can’t be happy with fourth” on the grid for Sunday’s Singapore Grand Prix.

His Mercedes team-mate, Lewis Hamilton, put in a lap record around the Marina Bay Street Circuit to take pole position.

The four-time World Champion was almost seven tenths of a second quicker than Bottas.

“I can’t be happy with fourth because everything was going quite nicely in FP3 and even all the way until Q2 but suddenly the others could find more grip but I couldn’t,” Bottas admitted after the session.

“That’s where the difference was in Q3, which I need to have a look at. 

“I think the tyre preparation could have been slightly better but, at this point, I can’t see it as being the key.”

The Finn had been on a par with Hamilton for the majority of the weekend, including into the early parts of qualifying on Saturday.

However, Hamilton found that something extra, which left Bottas slightly confused.

“Our car was on pole position and that shows we have a pretty competitive car in here,” he added.

“I think Lewis did a great lap, my lap was definitively missing a bit, but not six or seven tenths.

“So, there is still something for me to understand, why such a big gap because it was pretty close between Lewis and me in FP3 and both in Q1 and Q2.

“Suddenly, I could improve but he could improve more.

“I’m really pleased we improved the car in what has been one of the most difficult races for us, I guess that’s good for tomorrow.”

The Finn will line up alongside Hamilton’s title rival, Sebastian Vettel, on the second row of the grid for Sunday’s race.

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