Valtteri Bottas said a technical problem on his car led to his last-lap crash in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
The Cadillac driver hit the barrier at turn 15 after going off earlier on the same lap.“It was quite strange,” he said. “I went off in turn one on that same lap, so I think the system’s got a bit confused.
“I’d had a big super-clip, like 100 metres, and then only the front brakes would probably work. So it’s almost like I wasn’t harvesting anymore with the rears.”
The stewards are investigating Bottas’s crash, which did not involve any other cars. Cadillac team principal Marcin Budkowski acknowledged the car had a technical problem which the team will look into.
“It was a long, difficult day in any case and sadly still lacking pace,” Bottas added.
His team mate Sergio Perez was the last driver home in 15th place. However two two-times Azerbaijan Grand Prix winner said it had been “one of my best performances in Baku – and I’ve had good ones here.”
“I think I drove at a very high level the whole weekend, especially in the race,” he explained. “But we are simply a second, two seconds off the pace to compete with others.
“We stayed the whole first thing with the Williams, with the Audi, helped by the Overtake Mode. But at the end, we just didn’t have any straight line speed. We are too draggy on the straights.
“So there are plenty of things we need to improve, but as we know it’s going to be a difficult end of the year.”
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