Valtteri Bottas says he op🍌ted against trying to benefit from Formula 1 teammate Lewis Hamilton’s slipstream during Italian Grand Prix qualifying because Mercedes’ data suggested it wouldn’t make muc🍷h difference.

Bottas had the choice to run behind Hamilton and use the tow advantage around the power-sensitive Monza circuit during the🦋 final runs of Q3 but decided against it to instead prioritise running in c💧lean air.

The Finn was ultimately beaten to pole position at the Italian ꦇGrand Prix by Hamilton by just 0.069s.

“It was a pretty close gap,”𒉰 Bo🧔ttas explained after qualifying.

“I was expecting it always to be close and I’ve been🦩 feeling fast this weekend ﷺso obviously a bit disappointed to be second instead of first.

“Ultimately it came to the choice if I’m running first or second. I took 💧the first because from our analysis it shouldn’t be much of a difference or maybe even better to be first, so you can really focus on the clean lap and not to have any messy out-laps.”

Bottas did benefit from the tow on his fastest lap of qualifying, w♑hich heღ set right at the end of Q2.

“I just experienced once in qualifying a tow, at the end of Q2, and actually it didn’t feel to✤o bad and that’s when I had the quickest time,” he said.

“Otherwise✱, just cutting the wind at the front, in the corners I was fast. It’s impossible to say☂ without seeing the data which one was better.”

Hamilton explained that the diffꦓerence between having a tow and running in clean air was “very close”, saying it was not clear to Mercedes whi🍌ch approach was best.

“Valtteri chose to go first this weekend,” he added. “It was very, very clos🧜e between having clean air and being in the tow.

“I can’t really tell you which one’s best. Some people say bꦿeing in a tow’s best but you lose out in the middle and the last sector.✃”