Valtteri Bottas has had a solid if unspectacular season for Mercedes, finishing second four times in eight races, but again saw a possible victory charged ruined through no fault of his own in France this weekend.
Sebastian Vettel locked his front left wheel going into turn one and ran into Bottas, spinning the Finn, who also suffered a rear left puncture.
Bottas managed to recover back to the pits, but the damage was done and the Mercedes driver could only recover to seventh in the race, when a podium finish in a strong car looking extremely likely before the first corner.
To add insult to injury, Vettel recovered to finish fifth.
“I guess today was just not my day,” said Bottas. “In a way, it sums up my season so far. [It] was a shame because we had a strong car today, but my race was lost [at] Turn 1.
“I was on the outside going into [Turn 1] and knew that keeping the line would put me on the inside for Turn 2. Then I got a hit from behind, had a puncture and damage [to the] floor."