Bottas: "I think it’s quite clear from his onboard as well"

098cfdc7e396bf2160bc05a1ee5c9afa95ab4df8

14:49, 21 Apr 2021

Valtteri Bottas and George Russell collided hard at Imola. The Englishman came alongside Bottas with DRS and overtook him, but then slipped on the wet road surface. Russell took the Mercedes driver with him, which put both drivers out of the race.

Bottas and Russell were angry at each other's action after the incident. Whereas Russell felt that Bottas didn't give him any room to overtake, thus ignoring a gentleman's agreement, the Finn thought it was only logical that he didn't just let Russell drive past him. "I didn't make any sudden moves," he stated to Motorsport.com.

"I think it's quite clear from his onboard as well, I always left a space.

"No, from my side, it was clean," Bottas continued.

"And of course I'm defending, I'm not going to make any room for him. But also when I race, I have respect. So I see it differently than him. He knew that it was going to be damp there, because we have gone there lap after lap. I knew as well, and it was just not a place to go in those conditions on slicks. But he still went there."

Pos.	Driver	Team	Points
1	Kimi Antonelli Kimi Antonelli	MercedesMER	131
2	George Russell George Russell	MercedesMER	88
3	Charles Leclerc Charles Leclerc	FerrariFER	75
4	Lewis Hamilton Lewis Hamilton	FerrariFER	72
5	Lando Norris Lando Norris	McLarenMCL	58
6	Oscar Piastri Oscar Piastri	McLarenMCL	48
7	Max Verstappen Max Verstappen	Red Bull RacingRBR	43
8	Pierre Gasly Pierre Gasly	AlpineALP	20
9	Oliver Bearman Oliver Bearman	HaasHAA	18
10	Liam Lawson Liam Lawson	Racing BullsRCB	16
11	Franco Colapinto Franco Colapinto	AlpineALP	15
12	Isack Hadjar Isack Hadjar	Red Bull RacingRBR	14
13	Carlos Sainz Carlos Sainz	WilliamsWIL	6
14	Arvid Lindblad Arvid Lindblad	Racing BullsRCB	5
15	Gabriel Bortoleto Gabriel Bortoleto	AudiAUD	2
16	Esteban Ocon Esteban Ocon	HaasHAA	1
17	Alexander Albon Alexander Albon	WilliamsWIL	1
18	Nico Hulkenberg Nico Hulkenberg	AudiAUD	0
19	Valtteri Bottas Valtteri Bottas	CadillacCAD	0
20	Sergio Perez Sergio Perez	CadillacCAD	0
21	Lance Stroll Lance Stroll	Aston MartinAST	0
22	Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso	Aston MartinAST	0

Bottas: "I think it’s quite clear from his onboard as well"

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