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Formula 1 Hungarian GP
Masi: Onboard shots a "distorted" view of Leclerc/Bottas clash
Formula 1 race director Michael Masi says onboard footage of Valtteri Bottas and Charles Leclerc’s first lap clash in the Hungarian Grand Prix offered a "distorted" view of who was to blame.
Jonathan Noble
Edited: Aug 5, 2019, 2:40 PM
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Bottas was unhappy after the race over what he said was an "unnecessary" swipe towards him by Leclerc, with the contact having damaged the Finn's front wing and effectively ruined his race.
“When I saw the onboard, and when I saw Vettel’s onboard, it was clear that I was just going straight ahead, he was on the right, and he would have been anyway ahead of me before Turn 4 going straight,” said Bottas.
“But then suddenly he swept across and for me it was too late to react. I love hard racing, that’s for sure, but that was completely unnecessary, and for sure compromised my race.
"He was lucky enough not to get a puncture. That’s not how it should be.”
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The incident was looked at by race control but in the end it was decided that neither driver had done anything wrong in the situation.
Masi later explained that it was only an overhead camera shot taken from a helicopter that offered a proper perspective of what happened – and that the indications were that it was Bottas who had moved towards Leclerc.
Asked by Motorsport.com for why it was viewed as a racing incident, Masi said: “There is an element of the first-lap side of it, but there is also the other part that from what I saw, Bottas’ front wing hit Charles’ rear wheel, looking from the helicopter shot. So, there was nothing in it.”
Masi agreed that the onboard footage from Bottas’ car made it look like it was Leclerc had moved, but that was not backed up by the overhead camera.
“I think the onboards distort it slightly, but once you get the helicopter shot then it was pretty clear.”
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