Valtteri Bottas has had some bad luck in Portimao: firslty, after leading all the free practice sessions, he lost the pole position to his team mate Lewis Hamilton and then he could only follow him until the finish line of the Portuguise gran prix. 

The opening laps have been a little bit chaotic: Bottas took the lead, but the few drops of rain made it difficult for everyone to find the right grip. Only carlos Sainz and Lando Norris took advantage of the mixed conditions, and the spaniard overtook both Mercedes and Verstappen to take the lead. As soon as the surface dried, Bottas took the lead back, but it was only a matter of time until Lewis Hamilton claimed what was his: from there on, Valtteri struggled to find the right pace and followed his team mate until the chequered flag. He finishes the race in second position, collecting the 12th podium with his team mate and Max Verstappen. 

"The opening lap on the race was really good, there was a bit of drizzle which made it tricky and some cars with the soft tyre had the upper hand, but I was pretty pleased to get the lead. To be honest, after that I just didn’t have the pace today, and I don’t understand why – no pace whatsoever. Of course, I tried to defend when Lewis came closer, but there was nothing I could do, like I said I don’t know where the pace was today. I was pushing hard but I couldn’t go faster. Later on in the race I was hoping to extend my first stint a bit and go for the Soft tyre at the end but I don’t think it would have made a difference to the result today. It was a tough one for me, and I will be working hard with the team to understand why, then come back stronger next weekend in Imola".