Valtteri Bottas slams drivers for their 'unfair racing'
Red Bull Contentpool
F1 News
Valtteri Bottas has criticised The Formula 1 rulebook, labelling a certain loophole, utilised famously by Max Verstappen, as 'unfair'. Most recently, Lando Norris and Max Verstappen clashed in both the United States and Mexican Grand Prix. Memorably in Mexico, Verstappen was heavily penalised for his role in pushing his rival off the track. The Sauber driver thinks it's important that more clarity on these incidents is given by those in charge.
Bottas won't be on the F1 grid in 2025 but still admits that changes should be made to improve the quality of racing. "There's a bit of a loophole there that you can just attack to the apex and then deal with the rest. I think there's some fine-tuning to do. But, obviously, some drivers are taking way more advantage of the guidelines than the others," he began.
Is Bottas targeting Verstappen's tactics?
Although the Finn didn't mention a name, he may be referring to Max Verstappen. The Red Bull Racing driver has always driven to the rulebook, exploiting it in some cases for his own benefit. The Dutchman always knows exactly what is and is not allowed. Think Austin for example, when Norris was pushed off the track, but was given a penalty for exceeding track limits as Verstappen just about made the corner. There are, of course, times that the limit has been exceeded. The clash with Norris in Mexico was an example of this.
"I think this is unfair if the driver doesn't make the corner. You should be always in control. It's just not part of fair racing. There's still some respect with some drivers. Everyone knows what fair racing is and what we've seen recently is not really, it isn't," the Finn concluded.
This article was written in collaboration with Ludo van Denderen.
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