Bottas not going for fastest lap: 'That's why we didn't bring him in'
F1 News
- GPblog.com
In the closing stages of the French Grand Prix, Valtteri Bottas was relegated to fourth place with a sizeable lead over Lando Norris in 5th. Yet the Finn did not come in to take another point for the fastest lap on fresh tyres.
No fastest lap for Bottas
The reason for not bringing Bottas in was very simple according to team principal Toto Wolff: "We thought Perez might get a five second penalty for overtaking outside the track," he told ServusTV. Perez's overtaking was on the edge and the race committee said they would look into it.
Bottas stayed on the track in the hope that a penalty for Perez would help him get back on the podium. Once there was clarity around the overtaking manoeuvre, it was already too late. Race control said Perez had already passed Bottas when he left the track.
Podium was not to be
In the end it didn't matter much, because if Perez had received a five-second penalty he would still have held third place. After all, he finished 5.8 seconds ahead of Bottas. "We gambled and lost," says Wolff.