Before the power unit issue, Valteri Botas had hoped to resume the fight for the lead with Lewis Hamilton, which knocked him out of the Eiffel Grand Prix.

Mercedes suspects a power outage was caused by an MGU-H malfunction, which led to Botas’ retirement following a virtual safety car era before the race reached halfway. “It’s unfortunate,” Botas said. “What can I say?”

During the VSC I started to lose power and it could never be recovered. This was a huge power loss, so something had to be done with the power unit. I do not know the details yet. It’s unfortunate, it was good fun until then. ”

Botas had struggled hard with the team member to maintain the lead from the start. Hamilton took the lead ahead of him when Botas locked in first in the light rain.

“We had a good fight at the start of the race,” Botas said. “I have no way to make it easier for him. I am happy to be able to maintain the lead.

“Later I lost the position because the lock-up became one for me. That means I stopped earlier. ”

Botas set some sector times following his pit stop, and then lost time before Daniel Ricciardo’s power unit failed.

“The new tires are starting to look great,” Botas said, adding that Hamilton could “undercut” to regain the lead. But his team member played during the VSC period and he was able to overcome Botas before the power unit problem occurred.

2020 Eiffel Grand Prix

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