Bottas reveals what caused his Mexico crash as Cadillac changes parts for Brazil

The front-left suspension on Bottas's car failed as he braked for Turn 1, and the car spun backwards into the barrier. The race was red-flagged so the barriers could be repaired. Bottas got out of the car on his own, and Cadillac later said he had been released after a precautionary medical check.

On Thursday he told reporters he had banged his right leg against the steering wheel on impact. That is why he was so loud on the radio and stayed in the car to talk to the FIA medical team. The result was some muscle bruising that he says already feels "completely normal".

Bottas said the team had already set temperature limits but has had to tighten them. "We've had to revert some parts to older spec. And also we've had to revert the limits on temperatures that we can run on those," he said. When asked which part had been changed, he replied: "It's just the wishbone mountings, yeah."

The Finn admitted the team had moved into territory it had never tested with a revision to an older spec set-up being made for this weekend in Brazil.

He does not expect the fix to cause problems in Brazil. "Mexico is going to be the hardest one for the rest of the season with the temperatures, so I think we should be okay, but obviously need some good redesigning for the future," he said.

Earlier this season Sergio Perez had a front suspension failure in Canada, which was caused by hot air leaking from the brake ducts.

The crash comes while Bottas is still waiting to hear about next season. Colton Herta is set to reach the magic 40 mark needed to be eligible for Formula 1 by taking part in first practice at Interlagos. Cadillac has already tied Perez down to a long-term deal.

Before the Mexico race, Cadillac CEO Dan Towriss said that Bottas could "absolutely" keep his seat. "We absolutely love Valtteri, and he's done everything we've asked of him," Towriss said. He also praised Herta: "His FP1s have been strong, and so we're seeing somebody who's learning and building and making the case for a seat possibly for next year."

Bottas is under contract for 2027, but any decision needs board approval. "The latest message I've got is that they're not looking to change anything. Still, things need to be confirmed by the board," he said. He also added that he was "quite surprised about the amount of noise on that, because I know what my situation is."