Valtteri Bottas' incident-packed start "not his finest moment" - Mercedes

Bottas, Mercedes, Hungary — Photo: © LAT Images

Hungarian Grand Prix

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Bottas' incident-packed start "not his finest moment" - Mercedes

Bottas retired at the first corner after triggering a multi-car collision

Ian Parkes & Ewan Gale

Thursday 5 August 2021 09:30

Valtteri Bottas' 300-metre cameo at the Hungarian Grand Prix was "not his finest moment" according to Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin.

The Finn started second at the Hungaroring looking for a strong result to boost his F1 future with Mercedes with discussions set to conclude over the summer break.

What ensued between lights out and the exit of turn one was a horror show, however, as wheelspin off the line saw Bottas fall behind Lando Norris and both Red Bulls before a misjudgement in the braking zone sent the Mercedes into the McLaren ahead.

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Bottas retired on the spot along with Norris and Sergio Perez and asked what the 31-year-old had said about the crash, Shovlin replied: "He said sorry, he has apologised to those that were involved.

"He had a poor start. I think that with the rain that fell on the formation lap, the grip was low and he broke to wheelspin.

"Then obviously, going into turn one he was right behind Lando, which would have been costing him downforce and then he just misjudged the breaking, locked up in wet conditions.

"Once the wheels are locked you are a bit of a passenger but not his finest moment. All he could really do was apologise.

"There were some mitigating circumstances but he is not trying to push the blame anywhere other than take it on his own shoulders."

Bottas "fully to blame" for incident

The incident also left Bottas staring at a five-place grid drop for the next race in Belgium for being found to be wholly to blame for the incident, despite the stewards noting the damp conditions at the Hungaroring on the first lap.

Describing his incident, Bottas conceded: "I had a poor start, had wheelspin off the line and lost places.

"Braking into the first corner, I was right in the gearbox of Lando and just locked the wheels. Probably, I didn't calculate the braking point quite right and hit him, then it was a mess.

"It was a great starting point for the race and for me, it was a shame."