Williams driver Russell collided with Bottas while trying to overtake the Mercedes car for ninth place in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, resulting in a serious crash.
The incident eliminated both drivers from the race and spawned a red flag due to debris scattered across the track. It also resulted in Bottas’ car being nearly written off due to the damage it suffered.
Bottas and Russell blamed each other for the incident, but Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff was unimpressed by Russell’s actions and said he had “a lot to learn” and should have been more attentive to a car from his parents’ team.
Russell apologized for Bottas Monday night, saying he “should have handled the whole situation better”.
Prior to apologizing, Russell said he was confident the incident would not negatively affect his relationship with Mercedes.
Russell has been a member of his Junior Program since 2017 and is widely advised that one day he will be successful at either Bottas or Lewis Hamilton at Brackley, perhaps as early as 2022.
“It won’t harm my relationship with Mercedes,” said Russell. “I’ve already spoken to them and there is mutual understanding.
“I’m sure when you look ahead, you don’t really take into account which car it is. But at the end of the day the move was absolutely in full swing.
“It was only three quarters of the way straight ahead and that would have been a clear, easy overtaking if it hadn’t been a bit damp and this point.
“The point I pulled out wasn’t wet. It was just that the track was going to the left, I was being pushed slightly to the right, and there was the moisture. “
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Russell went to Bottas’ cockpit shortly after the crash and asked the Finn if he had tried to kill us both before knocking him on the helmet. Bottas responded by raising a middle finger to Russell.
“Should I have reacted in the heat of the moment as I did later? Probably not, no, ”Russell admitted.
“But as I said, the emotions are incredibly high. We exchanged words and that was it. “
Russell plans to call Bottas this week to clean the air after her crash, while Wolff also said he intends to discuss the crash with Russell.
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