Valtteri Bottas still sees “everything to play for” despite a disappointing end to qualifying at the Russian Grand Prix.
The Finn had shown strong pace on a circuit where he usually excels during practice, but when it mattered, he was a lowly fifth fastest in Q3 having failed to manage a clean lap.
“It was tricky today,” he admitted. “In the last sector, in Turn 13, pretty much in every lap, sometimes a bigger one, sometimes a smaller one, but I always had a snap.
“On both runs in Q3 I just couldn’t drive around the issue. I always had the snap, so then the rear tyres would overheat and that was it for Sector 3.
“It was really, really difficult and I don’t really understand why.”
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Bottas will inherit fourth on the grid following Max Verstappen’s penalty and is still confident of a strong result, with Mercedes also opting to start on the medium compound tyre.
“I think we thought that even if we’d been in the front row Ferrari would get us at the start, so I think we still have everything to play for,” he explained.
Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto has queried the effectiveness of the alternate strategy that their rivals have opted for.
“That is surprising to us, their choice [of starting on the mediums],” he told Sky Sports. “It is not something we were considering to be honest. I think we even need to try to understand why they did that choice.
“Certainly we feel the soft tyre has got a grip advantage at the start. The start will be key tomorrow.
“But maybe what they did is the right choice. Different strategies may do something interesting for the race and for the fans. We will see.”
Grip has been at a premium all weekend in Sochi on the smooth track surface, so just how long the soft compound holds may well be critical on Sunday.