‘Everyone is trying to screw you over’ - Bottas reacts to “harsh” F1 penalty
Bottas was handed a three-place grid penalty for Sunday’s race in Spielberg after he suffered a bizarre spin in the pitlane during second practice on Friday afternoon.
The Finn lost control of his W12 while pulling away from his pitbox, leaving him broadside against the McLaren garage and requiring help from the team’s pit crew to get him back facing the correct way.
Bottas went on to set the second-fastest time in qualifying behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen but will start the Styrian Grand Prix from fifth once his grid drop is applied.
Asked if he felt a three-place grid penalty was justified, Bottas replied: “In my personal view, it’s quite harsh.
“I never imagined after that there would be a penalty. But of course, the other teams, when they see the opportunity they complain that it’s dangerous, etc., so that we get penalised.
“That’s how it goes. Everyone is always trying to screw you over in this sport.
“Yes, for sure it can be a dangerous situation if there’s a lot of people in the pitlane, but…”
Bottas comments appeared to point an accusing finger at McLaren after the Woking squad was quick to complain to race control about his “ridiculous” spin that the stewards concluded was “potentially dangerous driving”.
Bottas had been experimenting by pulling away from his pit box in second gear and was taken by surprise by how much wheelspin he had.
“It definitely caught me out, I never imagined that would happen on the pit lane,” Bottas explained.
“We decided to try something different on the launch and start in second gear, because sometimes with the higher gear and the lower revs you can manage, as the wheelspin in the initial part is not so aggressive.
“But then, once I got the wheelspin it really caught me out, maybe the lines on the pit lane were still slightly damp from the drizzle and I just couldn’t hold it. Obviously quite a different behaviour in second gear than in first gear. So, that happened.”
Despite the penalty, Bottas was left satisfied with his efforts in qualifying and credited a set-up turnaround that was aided by his teammate’s side of the garage as being key to his improved performance on Saturday afternoon.
“I honestly think it was a good qualifying,” he said. “I think I’ve been a bit little lost with the setup during the weekend, so far, but then been able to get into the right direction with the set-up.
“We’ve been working closely with Lewis as well, to try had help find the optimal set-up. And definitely got some guidance from his side of the garage, because I was struggling with pace on Friday and was a little bit confused on which way to go.
“By working as a team we found the right direction and after that I actually found the confidence in the car and it felt good. On that last lap there were definitely not two tenths left on the table, so I think Max and Red Bull were faster today.
“It was a good lap and I’m pleased with that. Of course it’s a shame I’ve got the penalty, but obviously the job today was to maximise the situation.”
