Valtteri Bottas, a Mercedes driver, was taken aback by team principal Toto Wolff’s claims that he was to blame for the botched Monaco pit stop.
Valtteri Bottas, a Mercedes driver, was astonished by team principal Toto Wolff’s claims that he was to fault for the botched pit stop in Monaco. The mechanics were unable to remove Bottas’ front right wheel, forcing him to retire from the Monaco Grand Prix. The teeth of the wheel nut were sawed off during the stop, it was later discovered. As a result, removal was not possible at the time. However, according to Wolff, Bottas stopped in the pits earlier than he was supposed to. As a result, the mechanic used the gun at an angle, exacerbating the problems.
“I saw the video and, for me, it was pretty spot-on where I stopped. So I was quite surprised.”
Bottas added, however, that him and Wolff hadn’t yet had a conversation about this.
“Not really, (we) kind of left it there.”
Bottas admitted that it took him some time to accept the outcome of his race. He now trails Monaco GP winner and championship leader Max Verstappen by 58 points.
“Personally for me it took a couple of days, I have to say, because it’s not been the best start of the season. That kind of an issue, when it hits you, and obviously when your target is to get some good points, it’s disappointing.
“But I got over it, I’ve found my ways to get through it and I’m keen to race again.”
We learnt from the mistake: Valtteri Bottas
The wheel was eventually removed from Mercedes’ factory on the Tuesday following the race. Bottas said that the team has carefully studied the unsuccessful pit stop in order to avoid a repeat.
“The main thing, first, was it was nice to hear when we got it off. And of course, we as a team had to maximise the learning from it.
“There was a detailed analysis, of course, what happened, why it happened, how can we prevent that ever happening again in the future.
“So it’s really all about learning the issue and correcting it. So I think the team fully understands it now and we’ve made corrections for that and hopefully don’t have to experience it again.”
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