Valtteri Bottas has had a number of engine penalties in recent races, but is confident that Mercedes is working hard to avoid any further issues.
Mercedes is making progress, according to Valtteri Bottas, in addition to dealing with reliability difficulties.
In recent races, the Finn has been plagued with grid penalties after taking his sixth ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) of the season, which is three more than the allowed number.
Despite this, Bottas is concerned about the possibility of similar issues at the Mexican Grand Prix, believing that the team is learning more about how to avoid such problems.
“The team must be working so hard on this case,” Bottas said.
“I think we’re getting more confidence on what is actually happening, and how to prevent things.
“I have my fingers crossed [that] that’s it for the engine penalties for me, but obviously we’ll see as we go. But for now, everything’s good.”
Mercedes has previously indicated that they chose to incur penalties in order to avoid any “catastrophic” engine failures during the season’s final stages.
Bottas isn’t the only one who has been affected by this, with team leader Toto Wolff saying that Lewis Hamilton may yet need to switch engines before the end of the year.
Hamilton, on the other hand, has put an end to rumors that he may be penalized in Mexico.
Will Bottas keep third in the championship?
Meanwhile, Bottas is in in third place in the Drivers’ standings, with Sergio Perez of Red Bull in fourth place, 35 points behind him.
When asked if Perez is his closest title competitor, Bottas said that he hasn’t given it much thought and is entirely focused on collecting as many points as possible.
“If I’m honest, I don’t even know the points situation,” Bottas explained. “I know I’m third. I don’t know the gaps. I don’t know who is fourth.
“I don’t really think about it that way. I just try to look ahead, [and] try to score maximum points for the team and for myself.”
Bottas’ final season with Mercedes will be in 2021, before he joins Alfa Romeo on a multi-year deal in 2022.
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