Valtteri Bottas was sure victory at the Chinese Grand Prix would have been his had it not been for the mid-race Safety Car which turned everything on its head.
The Finn had made the most of Ferrari's decision to wait a little longer to pit Sebastian Vettel to undercut the early race leader having got ahead of Kimi Raikkonen at the start.
The Mercedes driver would have to overtake his fellow countryman again when the Scuderia opted to leave Raikkonen out but after he had done so was holding Vettel at bay before Red Bull changed the game.
“The race was going pretty well for us, we were looking strong and until the SC stop,” Bottas said. “Then we were in trouble with Daniel and nearly with Kimi in the end.
“It is disappointing. We were giving everything we had and it felt like we deserved the victory but not today.”
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Though he had the four-time world champion within DRS range lap after lap after his pit-stop, the way his race panned out, Valtteri does think he would have kept Vettel behind.
“It felt like everything was under control, I had no major drop off in the end so I think we could have done it," he stated.
“This is racing and these things happen,” he added referring to the Safety Car.
