Valtteri Bottas has rued his "eventful and short" Japanese Grand Prix, after getting caught up in numerous incidents at the start. The Alfa Romeo driver started from 16th on the grid and was collected by Esteban Ocon heading into the first corner, causing front wing damage and a puncture. It was a hectic return to the pits as the mechanics worked frantically to get him back out on track before he could be lapped by the Safety Car. The Finn was then battling with Logan Sargeant towards the rear of the field when the Williams driver made a mistake at the hairpin and collided with the Alfa Romeo - spitting him into the barrier on the outside. Alfa Romeo eventually opted to retire the car - the second straight race Bottas has posted DNF in what has been a poor season for the 10-time Grand Prix winner.
Bottas: The car was undrivable
"It was a pretty eventful, short race for me. I had a great start off the line, I was between two cars going into Turn 1, and the car on the right started squeezing to the left," Bottas told F1 TV. "Then in the end, there was no space, there was a collision and I had a puncture." "With Sargeant I just tried to make the move from the outside, but then he locked up and ended up taking me out." The contact caused significant damage to Bottas' car, with him remarking that it was "undrivable" over team radio. "I think must have had some damage to the suspension, we also had a hole on the sidepod," he explained.
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