F1 News
Bottas happy to hit barriers after FP2 spin
- Jake Williams-Smith
Valtteri Bottas says he isn't unhappy after hitting the barriers during second practice for the Austrian Grand Prix.
Mid-way through the second practice session, the Finn lost control of his Mercedes coming out of turn five and found himself spearing into the barriers, destroying the front of his W10.
Speaking after the session, Bottas admitted he wasn't too disheartened after the smash and added that he was actually a fan of being punished for making the mistake.
“It [natural track limits] makes a difference,” he told Autosport.
“Even though I crashed I do prefer to be penalised for the mistakes. It makes it more exciting.
“I think that is how it should be, and mistakes here definitely cost a lot with aggressive kerbs and minimal run-offs and everything.”
Despite the crash, Bottas finished in second place, behind Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari. He explained that he was feeling confident going into Saturday ahead of a potentially tight qualifying session.
“That [engine change] compromised first practice a little bit but still found a clear direction on the car set-up and where to go, and made pretty big changes for FP2 and felt a lot better until I had the shunt.
“But before that, it was feeling quite nice. So overall a good feeling but other teams are quick as well.”