Welcome at RacingNews365

Become part of the largest racing community in the United Kingdom. Create your free account now!

  • Share your thoughts and opinions about F1
  • Win fantastic prizes
  • Get access to our premium content
  • Take advantage of more exclusive benefits
Sign in
Valtteri Bottas

Bottas hits out at rival teams: Everyone is always trying to screw you over

Despite finishing with the second fastest time in qualifying, Valtteri Bottas will start Sunday's race in fifth following a grid penalty. The Finn was surprised he spun in the pit lane during FP2, along with the penalty he received.

Bottas Austria 2021
Article
To news overview © Mercedes

Valtteri Bottas believes his three-place grid penalty was handed down following complaints from rival teams, as the Finn believes the punishment was quite harsh.

The Mercedes driver qualified second for Sunday's Styrian Grand Prix, however he will start in fifth spot after spinning in the pit lane during FP2 on Friday. Bottas admits he didn't expect the sanction.

"It definitely caught me out," Bottas told RacingNews365.com and other members of the media. “I never imagined that would happen on the pit lane.

“My personal view is it’s quite harsh [the penalty]. I never imagined after that there would be a penalty.

“But of course, other teams, when they see the opportunity, they complain that it’s dangerous, et cetera, so that we would get penalised. That’s how it goes, everyone is always trying to screw you over in this sport."

Despite the setback, Bottas was pleased with his his Saturday played out.

"I honestly think it was a good qualifying," Bottas added. "I think I've been a little bit lost with the setup during the weekend so far, but [I was] then able to go in the right direction with the setup.

"We've been working closely with Lewis [Hamilton] to try and find the optimal setup and definitely got some guidance from his side of the garage this weekend because I was definitely lacking a bit of pace on Friday."

Also interesting:

Video: How F1 hybrid power systems work

The ERS is often mentioned in Formula 1, but what does it actually stand for? And how exactly does it work? In the video below, RacingNews365.com presents all you need to know about the hybrid system and how it plays an important role in modern-day F1.

F1 2021 Styrian Grand Prix RN365 News dossier

1 comment

x
LATEST Rejected F1 team claims Andretti accepted by FIA