Verstappen has to thank Bottas: 'He was only looking after Hamilton'

Valtteri Bottas qualified on pole position and started at the front, but lost this position to Max Verstappen. According to former driver Robert Doornbos, the Finn has himself to blame for this.

"Max has a good start and the slipstream," Doornbos reveals at Ziggo Sport. "Bottas only pays attention to Hamilton and thus leaves the door open on the racing line. On this line, you can brake later than where the other guys drive. Bottas thinks at 110 metres before the corner, 'I'll kick him into the anchors.' Max does that at 90 meters and lets the car roll to the outside. That's where he made the difference today."

Then Bottas crashed with Ricciardo. "It went from bad to worse. Really from hero to zero," is how Doornbos sums up his first lap. He did have a good word to say about Verstappen. "It's extra clever because those guys all had to wait so long on the grid. The brakes were cooling down, so at what point do you hit the brakes without a wheel locking up?"

Bottas still managed to set the fastest race lap at the end of the race. As a result, Hamilton is not 20, but 19 points behind Verstappen in the world championship.