Even after second place in qualifying, Valtteri Bottas is still fifth in the Styrian GP following a starting penalty from the FIA. The Finnish driver reveals that the “hard” penalty is a result of complaints from rival teams to officials.
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During FP2, Bottas left the pits on fresh hard tires. Unfortunately, he lost control of his car and stopped in the fast lane near the McLaren pit. As a result, the Finn diver received a three-place penalty from the commissioners before the Styrian GP.
Fortunately, no one was harmed in the incident and McLaren quickly helped Bottas, who was stuck in front of the Woking-based team garage. Shortly afterwards, the manager of the McLaren team, Paul James, made FIA race director Michael Masi aware of the incident over the radio.
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What did Valtteri Bottas say?
At the drivers’ conference after qualifying, Bottas said that the penalty was “pretty tough” and that other teams were taking the opportunity to gain an advantage over him.
“My personal opinion is [that it’s] pretty hard, ”he said.
“I never imagined there would be a penalty after that, but of course other teams would complain when they saw the opportunity that it was dangerous, etc., so that we would be punished.
Formula 1 F1 – French Grand Prix – Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet, France – June 18, 2021. Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes during practice REUTERS / Eric Gaillard.
“That’s the way it works, so everyone’s always trying to kid you on this sport.”
Toto Wolff dissatisfied with Bottas’ punishment
For the first time this season, F1 teams can send a radio message from FIA Race Director Michael Masi, and Toto Wolff was quick to respond to the aftermath of Bottas’ spin.
“It’s very entertaining how quickly some sports directors jump on the channel to Masi and come up with Armageddon scenarios.” said the Mercedes team boss.
Formula 1 F1 – Styria Grand Prix – Red Bull Ring, Styria, Austria – June 25, 2021. Valtteri Bottas from Mercedes in action during practice REUTERS / Lisi Niesner.
“I find it tough, especially against someone like Valtteri who never goes wrong. He was very honest and straightforward with his explanation, ”said Wolff after Bottas revealed that Mercedes had tried something new to shorten the time on the pit descent.
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Whichever way you feel about the penalty, the fact is that Bottas will start the race in P5. Max Verstappen will start from pole position, followed by his arch-rival and Valtteri’s team-mate Lewis Hamilton, who will join him in the front row. Lando Norris follows behind, who has moved up from P4 to P3 thanks to Bottas’ penalty.
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Do you think the Finn can fight his way up in the Order? Let us know in the comments.
The post Valtteri Bottas is aiming for a thinly veiled ditch at McLaren F1 for his Styrian GP grid penalty first appeared on monter-une-startup.
