Valtteri Bottas admits that he could have done more to block Max Verstappen on the opening lap of the Mexican Grand Prix. The Finn initially looked to have made a strong start from pole position, but then found himself going side-by-side with Red Bull driver Verstappen and Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton into Turn 1. Verstappen was able to get past both cars, and Bottas was criticised by Hamilton for leaving the door open , though the Briton later played down the comments on social media . Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff also made remarks stating that the team "seemed to open up the sea for Max" . Reflecting on the incident now, Bottas can acknowledge that there might have been a better way for him to react. "If I'm very honest to myself, if I look back - [though] it's easy to say afterwards - probably I could have done things different," Bottas told accredited media when asked by RacingNews365.com whether he could have done more to defend from Verstappen. "But in that moment, I thought I was making the right decisions. If I could relive the moment, maybe there was a way to block Max, or prevent him going [on the] outside and maybe he wouldn't have had a chance to go inside, I don't know."
"I tried my best"
Whilst Bottas has looked back at what he could have done better in the incident, he also feels that he did the best that he could in the moment. "[It was] one of these things," he explained. "But at that moment, I tried my best, and that's all I can do. "I've obviously watched the videos, and if I would be in the same situation again, maybe I could do a better job, [but] maybe not." Having scored no points in Mexico, Bottas will be hoping for better at the Brazilian Grand Prix, with Mercedes now only one point ahead of Red Bull in the Constructors' Championship.
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