Valtteri Bottas was upset with Daniel Ricciardo after the Mexican GP shunt between the two drivers, sending both tumbling down the order.
Bottas started the race on pole position, but outside of a DNF, it was the worst possible result for him. He was hit by Ricciardo into Turn 1, and spun off the track.
The Safety Car that followed saw him behind Ricciardo, and he was stuck there for the majority of the race. He ended up pitting an extra time to get the fastest lap.
The Finn’s result meant Mercedes’ lead in the Constructors’ Championship is now a solitary point. It was a disaster in Mexico for him and for his team, and at the centre of it was the McLaren driver.
Bottas was upset with Ricciardo after he hit him from behind, and said that it effectively took him out of the race.
“He really ruined my day, but I am sure he didn’t do the hit on purpose. It compromised his race as well, but it was not ideal,” he said, as quoted by Planet F1.
“Since the spin in turn one with the hit from Daniel, we were really compromised and the best chance we had to get by was stopping twice.”
Can’t overtake
Bottas also talked about the difficulties he faced while overtaking, and stated that the reason he was stuck behind all race was because of the difficulties he faced.
“Following other cars with the engine and brakes overheating it was just more difficult than we thought,” he added.
“It was as hard as we expected, as it was back in 2019. The big thing here is to not overheat the engine or the brakes so you cannot push. We did a lot of lift and coast.”
Read more: Wolff throws Bottas under the bus after latest Mercedes mistake – “That should not happen”