Valtteri Bottas says he'd "rather stay home" than give up on the 2020 Formula 1 title despite the ever-increasing gap to Lewis Hamilton.
The Finn is now 50 points, or two race wins, behind his Mercedes teammate after following him home in second at the Belgian Grand Prix last Sunday.
However, there was a little moment of controversy when Bottas was denied the use of a higher power mode to attack Hamilton in the early laps, leading some to claim he's not allowed to race the six-time world champion...
“There’s no rules in place between the two drivers, they are allowed and free to race," Mercedes boss Toto Wolff was quoted by Crash.net.
“In the morning we agreed and discussed that we obviously have a limited amount of overtakes and that we would try not to use them against each other, or the last one against each other, because there is always the risk of needing it against Max [Verstappen] or any other car.
“This is what we were referring to and with Valtteri, obviously, this was maybe a miscommunication between him and some of the guys. And that is why we reiterated it.”
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As it is, Bottas admits his main issue this year has been starting behind Hamilton as he's only claimed two poles this season versus five for Lewis.
“When that one lap counts, Lewis has been really consistent, not making any mistakes in qualifying,” he said.
“As you look at the numbers, he has had the upper hand this year in qualifying, which honestly p*sses me off. But of course I’m trying and I do enjoy the challenge and I can’t wait for the next qualifying session next weekend (Italian Grand Prix).”
And though it may seem almost impossible for Valtteri, who turned 31 last week, to close that 50-point margin, he insists there is still time to turn the year around.
“I will still keep trying to find anything from myself that I can and just really trying to perfect everything,” added Bottas.
“The fact is it’s not over. There’s 10 races to go.
“Obviously I had that one kind of a DNF with a puncture at Silverstone and lost points with that. If I would give up now then I would rather stay home, so I will keep pushing.
“Actually this week has been at least like a smooth weekend without any issues, just the qualifying wasn’t good enough but I’m working on everything.
“I’m trying but there’s still many positives I can take. I feel my race pace this year has been better than any year before, so that’s a positive, so I feel like always in the race I’m there and I can fight for it, so now it’s just about trying to perform better and more consistently in qualifying sessions.”
