Lance Stroll and Valtteri Bottas got into an incident at the Australian GP following which Stroll was slapped with a time penalty.
Alfa Romeo driver Valtteri Bottas was fumed at Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll after the latter allegedly pushed Bottas off the circuit.
Stroll and Bottas got close together on several occasions during the Australian Grand Prix. Following this, the stewards served the Canadian driver with a five-second time penalty.
Furthermore, one penalty point was added to hid racing licence, moving home only three points from a race ban. Meanwhile, Bottas finished the race without any damage or penalty.
He finished the race at P8 and scored four points for the Alfa Romeo. However, he believes that he could have scored more points.
The incidents prevented him from challenging Alpine’s Esteban Ocon for P7. “The weaving just made it really hard for me to decide where to go. It was a bit on the limit, I guess,” said an unhappy Bottas, post-race.
“And then yeah, that pass, obviously it forced me to go off the track. I don’t think that’s how you should race. I’m still amazed to get through it. I think that cost me a bit of time, for sure. Maybe Esteban was reachable, otherwise. But still, four points is not bad.”
Stroll finished outside of the points in 12th position as the last driver on the lead lap.
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Nothing has changed between Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton
Bottas spent five years at Mercedes with Lewis Hamilton and played a pivotal role in helping the team win the constructors’ championships.
The Finnish driver decided to move to Alfa Romeo last season in a multi-year deal. But the move has not affected his relationship with his former teammate.
During the Saudi Arabian GP, Bottas said, “It’s been nice. It was pretty natural. After the race, I drove past him on the in-lap and I heard he was on the podium, so I gave him thumbs up and he did the same.”
“And we actually flew together after the race to Dubai. And we flew from Dubai to Saudia Arabia. So we’re still sharing flights. In a way, nothing has changed.”
Also Read: Valtteri Bottas opens up about his relationship with Lewis Hamilton following his move to Alfa Romeo
