Valtteri Bottas has stressed that his race wasn’t “sacrificed” in order to aid Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton, after he came home third at the Italian Grand Prix, insisting his strategy was always to run long. Bottas fell behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in the fight for the lower step of the podium as Hamilton remained close behind Kimi Raikkonen in the battle for the lead at Monza. Bottas inherited the lead when his opponents stopped and was kept out by Mercedes, instructed to “keep Kimi behind”, as the Ferrari driver closed in. Raikkonen remained behind Bottas, a situation that enabled Hamilton to reduce a five-second gap to his rival for victory;...
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