F1 News
Crash between Bottas and Russell proof F1 is safe: 'Halo important again too'
- GPblog.com
One of the main topics after the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix was the violent crash between George Russell and Valtteri Bottas. In an attempt to overtake the Mercedes driver, the Briton swerve to the right side of the track and hit a wet patch. The side of the black Mercedes was then the end point of Russell's race.
Ralf Schumacher also saw the crash happen and was relieved that both drivers could get out, he explained in his column at Sky Germany. "Actually, we all got used to a safe Formula 1. We should all be grateful that two drivers can just get out on their own after such a crash. The halo also played a big role again, as Russell's left front tyre came dangerously close to Bottas' cockpit."
Who is to blame?
Immediately after the accident Russell came to Bottas, who was convinced the Finn was at fault. Also in the interviews after the race emotions were still high. On Monday, Russell finally acknowledged that he had not reacted as he did in Imola."There will certainly still be discussion about who was guilty. I don't think either one is really guilty, the same judgement had the FIA. It was very ambitious of George to overtake a Mercedes at that point with his Williams car."
So while Schumacher is critical of Russell's action, he can also see why Russell was so angry with Lewis Hamilton's teammate. "It was a risk, but Valtteri should have expected someone to come. Russell was behind him with DRS and you can't just shake that off". Despite this, everything ended with a hiss, although both cars could be written off. "Everything happened at such high speeds, both cars were completely broken, but fortunately both drivers remained unharmed", Schumacher concluded.