Valtteri Bottas said his qualifying crash at the Australian Grand Prix came down to “pushing too hard”.
The Mercedes driver lost control and struck the barrier at turn two while beginning his first flying lap in Q3. His team-mate Lewis Hamilton went on to take pole position.
“I think I was just pushing a bit too hard,” Bottas admitted. “I went wide in turn one and the kerb was still a bit damp. I lost the rear of the car and hit the wall outside of turn two.”
He called the incident “very unfortunate” and expressed regret for the impact on the team. “We have a really competitive car. It looked like it was damaged pretty badly, so I really hope we can fix it for the race.”
Mercedes head of motorsport Toto Wolff described the crash as “a big hit” and warned the mechanics would have a “long job list to get the car ready to race.”
Bottas will face a recovery challenge in the race, starting no higher than 10th on the grid.
“Overtaking is difficult on this track, but we’ll try everything we can,” he said. “Maybe it’s a little easier this year with the added DRS zone, we’ll find out tomorrow.”
He remained optimistic about the car’s potential: “We have a good car, so I’ll try to fight back the best I can. Once we get the car in the window, it seems like it’s really quick, so that’s something positive from today.”
2018 F1 season
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- McLaren staff told us we were “totally crazy” to take Honda engines in 2018 – Tost
- ‘It doesn’t matter if we start last’: How Red Bull’s junior team aided Honda’s leap forward
- Honda’s jet division helped F1 engineers solve power unit problem
- McLaren Racing losses rise after Honda split
Browse all 2018 F1 season articles