Bottas' bad start is not an isolated case: 'The scenario was quite simple'

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12:40, 13 Nov 2021

byGPblog.com

Valtteri Bottas has been known to react quickly at the start of the race in the past. However, this season that has not been the case, according to James Vowles, because of a change in his car.

The Finn used a standard steering wheel in the past, while Lewis Hamilton developed a different solution in the clutch control to get a better start. Bottas, however, took two thimbles for the clutch lever this season that are not horizontal, but angled downwards and it may have had an effect on Bottas' starts.

In doing so, Vowles points to the start at the Mexico GP. "The scenario was quite simple: if Valtteri had had a good start, he would have had to pull on Lewis' slipstream to protect him from a possible attack by Verstappen," Mercedes' Chief Strategist told Motorsport.com.

"At the start, Max and Lewis had a slightly better start than Valtteri, and as a result Lewis was unable to position himself behind his teammate."

Disappointment for Mercedes

It resulted in Hamilton and Bottas losing their good starting positions. "The difference in braking should have been a few meters. I didn't expect the gap we saw. The drivers were braking where they saw fit and after the race Max explained that he was also taking risks, which worked really well. That's where we lost the race."

Pos.	Driver	Team	Points
1	George Russell George Russell	MercedesMER	51
2	Kimi Antonelli Kimi Antonelli	MercedesMER	47
3	Charles Leclerc Charles Leclerc	FerrariFER	34
4	Lewis Hamilton Lewis Hamilton	FerrariFER	33
5	Oliver Bearman Oliver Bearman	HaasHAA	17
6	Lando Norris Lando Norris	McLarenMCL	15
7	Pierre Gasly Pierre Gasly	AlpineALP	9
8	Max Verstappen Max Verstappen	Red Bull RacingRBR	8
9	Liam Lawson Liam Lawson	Racing BullsRCB	8
10	Arvid Lindblad Arvid Lindblad	Racing BullsRCB	4
11	Isack Hadjar Isack Hadjar	Red Bull RacingRBR	4
12	Oscar Piastri Oscar Piastri	McLarenMCL	3
13	Carlos Sainz Carlos Sainz	WilliamsWIL	2
14	Gabriel Bortoleto Gabriel Bortoleto	AudiAUD	2
15	Franco Colapinto Franco Colapinto	AlpineALP	1
16	Esteban Ocon Esteban Ocon	HaasHAA	0
17	Nico Hulkenberg Nico Hulkenberg	AudiAUD	0
18	Alexander Albon Alexander Albon	WilliamsWIL	0
19	Valtteri Bottas Valtteri Bottas	CadillacCAD	0
20	Sergio Perez Sergio Perez	CadillacCAD	0
21	Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso	Aston MartinAST	0
22	Lance Stroll Lance Stroll	Aston MartinAST	0

Bottas' bad start is not an isolated case: 'The scenario was quite simple'

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