Bortoleto issues major ‘mea culpa’ after costly Las Vegas blunder

The Brazilian driver, whose race ended in the opening laps in Las Vegas, revealed he misjudged his braking zone, which resulted in the early chaos that took out Stroll.

Bortoleto, in his post-race reaction, also expressed his apologies to the Aston Martin driver before admitting it was a shame to see both their races end so early.

He said: “I misjudged the braking point a little bit, by about five metres. If I had braked a bit earlier, I would probably have stopped the car. I’m sorry for Lance; it was my fault. I don’t have much to say – it just ended so early in the race. Shame.”

During the race on the streets of Nevada, Bortoleto, who had qualified in 18th place, made an overtaking lunge that led to several cars coming together during the opening lap. The Stake F1 rookie was subsequently handed a penalty by the stewards following the incident.

Bortoleto and Stroll were also involved in a similar collision incident last time out at the Brazil Grand Prix.

The stewards at the Vegas race, after scrutinising the incident, opted to award Bortoleto a 10-second penalty. However, like Stroll, the Brazilian driver had already retired following the collision.

The penalty handed to Bortoleto was subsequently converted into a five-place grid penalty for the next race in Qatar, alongside two penalty points.

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