Valtteri Bottas admits he is keen to pull away from Max Verstappen early in the Singapore Grand Prix to avoid the risk of being caught in an incident.
Verstappen has made a name for himself in his rookie season in F1 with some spectacular overtaking manoeuvres, but has also been involved in some collisions. In Monaco, the Toro Rosso driver suffered a heavy crash after hitting Romain Grosjean, while he gave Bottas a puncture in Hungary after running in to the back of the Williams.
With Verstappen starting alongside Bottas on row 4 at Marina Bay and targeting the Williams, Bottas admits he will hope to pull away from the Dutch driver as quickly as possible.
“Hopefully I have a good start and I don’t need to worry, but of course we should not underestimate the cars starting behind us here," Bottas said. "It’s difficult to overtake, so we can’t really afford to give up a position.
"So for sure I think the best thing for me is to look forward, try to gain positions and hopefully I don’t need to worry about the drivers behind. I think he gave me a puncture in Budapest so hopefully that won’t happen again!
“Of course you are thinking and you are aware of who is behind and who is in front. But like I said, hopefully I don’t need to focus behind, hopefully I can just look forward and try to gain position.”
Bottas' Williams team-mate Felipe Massa - starting from ninth - says the team can try to race Mercedes but Ferrari and Red Bull are out of reach.
REPORT: Vettel storms to Singapore pole as Mercedes dominance ends
AS IT HAPPENED: Singapore Grand Prix qualifying
Click here for some of the most memorable crashes at Singapore
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