Bottas dejected after Hungary blunder: 'Mercedes chapter over'

Valtteri Bottas caused a lot of problems in the first corner of the Hungarian Grand Prix. With one mistake he immediately eliminated Sergio Perez and Lando Norris, but Max Verstappen also lost a lot of his car. After the race, some people wondered if this was intentional, but Ralf Schumacher put down that rumour.

For Bottas it was a Grand Prix to forget. The Finn had qualified in second place, but in the rain, he made an error of judgement in the first corner. He braked and thus eliminated a lot of competitors. Schumacher doesn't believe this was done on purpose to harm Red Bull.

Bottas' mistake not intentional

''I completely rule out that Bottas caused the crash on purpose. He is currently fighting for a cockpit in Formula One and was totally dejected himself. I think the Mercedes chapter is over for him and I imagine he is currently negotiating with Williams or Alfa,'' Schumacher said in his column for Sky Germany.

''Such a fatal mistake doesn't help at all - and he knows that. It doesn't help Bottas at all if Lewis Hamilton becomes world champion again. Besides, you can't calculate that you're pushing another car in front of you. Anyone who suspects a conspiracy should think about that.'

Mistake by Mercedes

Bottas was out after just one lap and had caused a lot of damage to competitors Perez and Verstappen, but Mercedes were unable to take full advantage of this opportunity. They were the only ones who chose to leave Lewis Hamilton out on intermediates at the restart, while the rest of the field dived in.

''Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes gave away the win when Hamilton was the only one who didn't go into the pits before the restart and didn't change the tyres. Toto Wolff said he remains behind the action, but he has been around long enough and knows it was a mistake. But you also have to hold Lewis responsible. He should have said to his team: 'I have to come in, the track is too dry,'' the German concluded.