Valtteri Bottas says he “did his part” in winning the United States Grand Prix, but was ultimately unable to delay Lewis Hamilton’s title celebrations by a further event.
Bottas needed to take victory at the Circuit of the Americas in order to stand a chance of still contending for the 2019 title, and he executed a two-stop strategy from pole to triumph.
But with Mercedes team-mate Hamilton finishing as runner-up it ensured the Briton secured a sixth world title ahead of the final rounds of the campaign in Brazil and Abu Dhabi.
Bottas admitted to mixed feelings in the aftermath of a race win that sealed second in the standings – his highest career finish – and a personal-best four victories in a season.
“Winning it [the race] was the only thing I could do to try and maintain the title hopes and delay them,” said Bottas.
“Obviously I did my part, which feels good, but Lewis was strong this weekend, as he always is, so he got some solid points and got the championship.
“I’ve got mixed feelings, really. As an individual weekend, it was strong but then, on the other hand, I felt this year being best of the rest it doesn’t feel good.
“But it always needs a little bit of positives as well, you know.
“It’s my best season in Formula 1 so far, so that’s good, and looking at other positives, I’ve made huge gains in many areas, in terms of race pace and everything.
“But yeah, winning the race this way, Lewis still… I’m sure he really wanted to win this race, to win the title by winning the race, I could stop that and that feels good, obviously.
“But I just look forward to next year – it’s a new opportunity.”
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