Breaking news
Formula 1
Bottas penalised for first-lap Sirotkin clash
Mercedes Formula 1 driver Valtteri Bottas has picked up a time penalty and two penalty points on his license for colliding with Sergey Sirotkin at the start of the Belgian Grand Prix.
Valentin Khorounzhiy
Edited: Aug 26, 2018, 4:42 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Bottas piled into the back of Sirotkin's FW41 on the approach to La Source after the start, damaging his own front wing in the collision.
A safety car brought out by the big crash involving Nico Hulkenberg, Fernando Alonso and Charles Leclerc at the same corner allowed Bottas to pit for repairs without losing too much time, and the Finn was able to fight his way through the pack to finish fourth.
Sirotkin, whose car seemingly escaped without major damage, was 12th at the chequered flag.
While the incident had no major consequences for either driver's grand prix, the FIA stewards summoned Bottas after the race and elected to give the Finn a five-second penalty.
The penalty did not impact Bottas' Belgian GP result, as he'd finished over seven seconds ahead of fifth-placed Sergio Perez.
“The driver of car 77 [Bottas] admitted the collision was his fault, that he had completely misjudged the situation and that the braking of car 35 [Sirotkin] caught him by surprise and that he should've left more margin,” the stewards' notes for the verdict read.
Bottas was also handed two penalty points on his license, taking him to fourth points overall for current 12-month period.
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1 W09 and Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari SF71H at the start of the race
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Sutton Images
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Hamilton: Mercedes needs to match Ferrari "tricks"
Next article Leclerc feels "lucky" after seeing halo damage
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Valentin Khorounzhiy
WTCR's April opener cancelled due to coronavirus
WTCR
WTCR
Hungaroring
WTCR's April opener cancelled due to coronavirus
Australian GP issues update on nine F1 paddock coronavirus tests
Formula 1
Formula 1
Australian GP
Australian GP issues update on nine F1 paddock coronavirus tests
Motorsport Games unveils 15 disciplines for 2020
General
General
Motorsport Games unveils 15 disciplines for 2020
More from
Sergey Sirotkin
Sirotkin to stay as Renault F1 reserve in 2020
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sirotkin to stay as Renault F1 reserve in 2020
Sirotkin replaces stranded Lundgaard for F2 testing
FIA F2
FIA F2
Sirotkin replaces stranded Lundgaard for F2 testing
Sirotkin: F1 exit more painful now than before
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sirotkin: F1 exit more painful now than before
More from
Mercedes
Christian Horner admits that F1 rivalry with Toto Wolff became "theatre"
Formula 1
Formula 1
Christian Horner admits that F1 rivalry with Toto Wolff became "theatre"
Latest news
Ferrari promotes F2 racer to F1 reserve driver role
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
24 min
Ferrari promotes F2 racer to F1 reserve driver role
Max Verstappen risks penalty after FP1 clash at Portimao GTWC finale
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance
WCEE GT World Challenge Europe Endurance 48 min
Max Verstappen risks penalty after FP1 clash at Portimao GTWC finale
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe