Valtteri Bottas concedes he was pushing too hard in a bid to challenge for p꧂ole position before crashing out of qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix. 

ꦺThe Mercedes driver took too much kerb on the entry to Turn 1 on his first Q3 flying effort and ran wide onto the grass - still wet from earlier rain - which sent him hurting into the barriers on the exit of the following corner. 

Bottas walked away from the hef𒐪ty incident unscathed, but t🍸he impact caused significant damage, wrecking the right-hand side of his Mercedes W09 car.

“I🍌 was just pushing a bit too hard,” Bottas explained. “I went wide in Turn 1 and the kerb was still a bit damp. I lost the rear of the car and hit the wall outside of Turn 2. 

"When I got to the first corner I tried to carry a lot of speed, went a🌸 bit wider than ideal and it was definitively a bit damp where I was, in the astroturf, so I got a lot of rear wheel spin and couldn’t catch the rear anymore. I didn’t want to lift anymore, so it was just my mistake.

“It's very unfortunate and I feel sorry for the team because we have a really com꧟petitive car. It looked like it was damaged pretty badly, so I really hope we can fix it for the race.”

Bottas revealed the impact had been measured at 27G, but played down concerns regardi♌ng his fit👍ness. 

"I can definitively feel it a bit, but I’m glad everything is fine, there’s no real pain at the moment. For sure at the moment it hurts, 🅰but I 🐻guess you earn that when you make a mistake."

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff later confirmed the team would need to change the gearbox, resulting in a fi🐽ve-place grid penalty for the Finn to add to his difficult start to the new season. 

Bottas is set⭕ to start Sunday’s race from 15th on the grid, assuming no other penalties are handed out prior to the season-opener. Despite the set-back, Bottas is determined 🗹to turn his fortunes around. 

“We approac🅰h tomorrow with a fighting spirit. Overtaking is difficult on this track, but we'll try everything we can. Maybe it'sꦐ a little easier this year with the added DRS zone, we'll find out tomorrow. 

“We have a good car, so I'll try to fight back the best I can. Once we get the car in the window, it see⭕m🍨s like it's really quick, so that's something positive from today.”