Bottas admits his mistake at the start in Hungary and apologizes
Valterri Bottas (Mercedes) assumes his mistake. He declares that he could not do anything to avoid his braking error causing an accident involving several cars at the start of the Hungarian Grand Prix.
A bloodbath. That’s all we’ll remember from the start of the Hungarian Grand Prix. On a wet track, Bottas made a poor start on his intermediates and lost control of his car under braking for the first corner. As a result, he collided with Sergio Perez, who then hit Lando Norris and Max Verstappen. Only the latter was able to continue the race after the red flag. An error acknowledged by the Finnish driver.
« It is obviously my mistake. I was coming from behind and it was up to me to brake earlier. But I misjudged the braking point. This shows that it is not so easy to brake in these conditions. I should have braked earlier. When I started to do it, I was getting closer, then I locked the wheels and I hit Lando Norris.
He also explains that it was difficult for him to judge where to brake at the start. And when he noticed, it was already too late. After the race, Bottas still apologized to Norris and Perez, admitting that he may have been distracted by Norris’s quick overtake on the inside line.
« Maybe a little. You lose a little sense of where you really compare yourself to turn 1. But it’s the race and I should have braked earlier.
A penalty of five places at the Belgian Grand Prix
At the arrival of the first turn, Bottas explained that he released the clutch at the right moment given the conditions, while simultaneously dealing with his wheels spinning. However, this did not prevent the accident. The driver received a five-place grid penalty for the Belgian Grand Prix. A penalty accepted by the team manager who admits to the mistake, preferring to move forward.
I will take this penalty. Obviously, this is not ideal, but at least in the next race, it is possible to overtake so it’s not like the weekend is over. It will make things more difficult.
