Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas believes the pace deficit he suffered to team-mate Lewis Hamilton during the Bahrain Grand Prix was due to a plastic bag getting caught in his front-wing during a blustery day at the Sakhir circuit.
The Finn made a superb start and jumped Hamilton on the initial getaway and challenged the leading Ferrari's throughout the opening lap. He then dropped to fourth after a brief lock-up let Charles Leclerc and Hamilton past.
Bottas was nearly 30 seconds shy of Hamilton in the final stages of the race, he had not long passed the ailing Ferrari of Leclerc before the safety car was called in the final laps to clear the stricken pair of Renaults at Turn 1.
Bahrain GP: Race Result | Drivers' Standings | Constructors' Standings
"It was extremely difficult to keep the rhythm during the race," said Bottas.
"But there were some good battles, and so on, I managed to save the engine at some point, when there was no threat from behind and a big gap for those in front.
"I also had something like a plastic bag stuck on my front wing, costing performance. It was not the perfect race but, in the end, luck was on our side and we’ll definitively take it, especially me, after the bad luck from last year."
Bottas is also certain the point given for the fastest lap of the race will be important in the championship battle, he maintains the lead of the driver's standings due to the extra fastest lap point he scored at the opening round in Australia.
"They are points that will count at the end of the championship," added the Finn. "Obviously now, at this point, it doesn’t really matter much, but what matters is at the end of the championship. And we’ve seen many championships finishing with very small margins.
"Today that was a bit out of reach because with the strong pace of Ferrari they got it, but for sure when there will be the opportunity, it’s going to be important.
"Anyway, even though it felt like a super-difficult race, I’m happy to be getting this amount of points because, in the end, consistency is going to be the key."
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