Bottas ‘owes beers’ to Mercedes F1 crew after pre-qualifying engine change

Mercedes noticed a fuel leak at the end of FP3, forcing it to switch to an older power unit.

Bottas was able to take part in qualifying as normal but it looked like an issue re-surfaced when he reported “misfiring”.

The issue was resolved as Bottas continued his strong run of form in qualifying, securing second on the grid behind Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton.

With Max Verstappen in third, the Finn acknowledged that it was an “important” session for the team as it goes in search of an eighth consecutive constructors’ championship, while Hamilton looks to win an eighth drivers’ title.

“It was an important qualifying today,” he said. “For me, I had a bit of a struggle in FP3 and actually had to change the engines. The guys just finished the car before qualifying and everything was working fine, so I was happy.

“The last lap was on the limit, and I enjoyed it, but it’s a tough track. I mean, we are pushing one lap after the other and the grip doesn’t drop, so it’s quite tough.”

Bottas admitted that the late engine change didn’t affect his preparations going into qualifying and he’s promised to buy some beers for mechanics given how speedy they fitted the new power unit.

“My preparations, not at all,” Bottas explained. “The guys, they just finished the car in time and everything was working fine, so I’ve already told them that I’ll buy them some beers when we’re allowed to have some. That’s going to be on me.”

With teammate Hamilton still locked in an intense fight for the title with Verstappen, Bottas is focusing on “maximising the team result” rather than trying to win the race.

“Of course, if there’s a chance I can win the race, I’ll try but if not, then we need to maximize the team result,” Bottas added.

“I’m not fighting for the championship anymore, we need to keep that in mind, Lewis and Max are, so we need to see what’s best for the team.”