"Hurt" Bottas facing mental battle with "relentless" Hamilton - Brawn

Ross Brawn believes Valtteri Bottas will be hurting following his latest defeat to a "relentless" Lewis Hamilton in the Tuscan Grand Prix.

Bottas seemed set to challenge Mercedes team-mate Hamilton at Mugello after finishing quickest across all three practice sessions for the first time in his career, before setting the pace in Q1.

Hamilton responded when it mattered most, however, by claiming his 95th pole position, 90th career win and 51st fastest lap, adding two further records to his portfolio en route.

Formula 1's managing director motorsport Brawn feels Bottas will struggle to come to terms with his latest loss to Hamilton that has left him 55 points adrift in the drivers' standings.

"Valtteri will leave Tuscany believing he should have a victory trophy in his possession, the Finn was in tremendous shape after snatching the lead from Lewis," said Brawn in his regular post-race column.

"But he let the win slip through his fingers and he must be struggling to come to terms with another defeat to the reigning world champion.

"This one will hurt and will leave him asking himself, what does he need to do to get the better of his team-mate?

"He’s still in the championship hunt, of course, but as every race goes by, his chances are slipping away.

"It’s now a mental battle because he has the speed. But Lewis is relentless, takes every opportunity and rarely gives one to his opposition."

Brawn also praised Alex Albon for finally clinching the first podium of his F1 career at the 30th time of asking, and in his 18th race with Red Bull.

The Thai-British driver came alive following the second restart, delivering superb moves on Sergio Perez and Daniel Ricciardo to ensure he stood on the podium, despite conceding to flashbacks of his two incidents with Hamilton that robbed him of the honour.

Brawn added: "Alex has had a fair bit of flak this season, and will have found it hard to see Pierre Gasly – the driver he replaced at Red Bull midway through last year – secure his maiden victory last weekend while he failed to score.

"But at Mugello, he drove beautifully, and he certainly had to work for it. Some of his overtaking moves were outstanding, particularly the pass on Daniel Ricciardo for third.

"In Max Verstappen, Albon has a stellar team-mate and it’s always going to be challenging for him, or anyone in that seat.

"I think he’s doing a good enough job to maintain his seat, and this podium will have done wonders for his confidence."

Before you go...

Hamilton breaks two more F1 records and hones in on Schumacher win tally

Raikkonen "hoped for more" despite breaking points drought at Mugello

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