Bottas says he couldn't avoid Vettel's broken endplate
Valtteri Bottas said he had no chance to avoid the debris that got lodged under his car at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix and wrecked his Formula 1 victory hopes.
The Finn had kept the lead from pole position at the start of the race at Imola and appeared comfortable out front early on.
However, on the second lap at the Tosa corner, he struck a broken endplate piece from Sebastian Vettel's Ferrari, which had come off when the German collided with Kevin Magnussen on the first lap.
Bottas aimed to run over the debris straight on, and so avoid the risk of a puncture, but the piece got lodged under the Finn's car and caused damage to his floor.
"The start was good, and that was one of the main things to get right today," said Bottas afterwards, who lost aerodynamic performance thanks to the damaged floor.
"On lap two, suddenly out of turn seven, there was debris. I didn't have time to avoid it. I aimed in the middle of the car at least, and tried not to run over that with the tyres.
"But obviously it caused some damage or something which made the car quite tricky to drive."
The loss of performance that Bottas suffered allowed Lewis Hamilton to overcut him at the pi stops, and also dropped the Finn into the clutches of Max Verstappen.
Following several lock-ups as he pushed as hard as he could, Bottas was unable to keep his Red Bull rival behind him.
"I was really pushing hard to try and avoid Max getting through," he said. "I had to push over all my limits and that led to a mistake, so I was unlucky."
Bottas eventually came home in second place after Verstappen suffered a late puncture and spun off the track at the second chicane, bringing out a late safety car.
Mercedes was able to remove the Vettel debris during a subsequent safety car pit stop, but it was too late for it not to have had a dramatic impact on his race.
Team boss Toto Wolff said: "It was stuck underneath his car. It was debris he over ran over on lap two and he couldn't avoid it."
Related video
Emilia Romagna GP: Hamilton wins as Mercedes secures title
Hamilton hails Mercedes’ "unbelievable" seventh F1 title
The danger for Red Bull in its Barcelona F1 team orders choice
OPINION: Red Bull walked into a team orders saga on its way to taking a Spanish Grand Prix 1-2 last weekend, where it took the lead of the 2022 Formula 1 world championships for the first time. But its decisions have added an element of risk to later races.
Why Mercedes' Spanish GP gains aren't as grand as they seemed
Mercedes' strong showing in last weekend's Spanish Grand Prix prompted team boss Toto Wolff to say it had halved its deficit to the leaders and its Formula 1 title chances were back on after a rocky start to the 2022 campaign. But a closer inspection of the team's performance suggests its gains aren't as grand as they first appeared
What's next for the Green Red Bull controversy?
From the 'pink Mercedes' to the 'Green Red Bull', the Silverstone-based team has received suspicious glares from up and down the Formula 1 paddock over its car design exploits. But after being cleared by the FIA over its Spanish Grand Prix updates amid a backdrop of cries of foul play, what's next in this saga?
Spanish Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2022
In an unusually hectic Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc was denied a dominant performance by his Ferrari engine letting go which allowed Max Verstappen to pick up the pieces. But numerous flashpoints kept the race twisting and turning throughout, with one perfect score from an emerging contender
How Verstappen overcame his and Red Bull’s errors to win in Spain
Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari engine disaster offered an open goal for Max Verstappen and Red Bull to strike, but the reigning Formula 1 world champion still had to solve multiple errors and profit from a begrudged assist from team-mate Sergio Perez, which created an unexpectedly eventful Spanish Grand Prix
Why Red Bull can win a Spanish GP that looked perfect for Ferrari
Formula 1's return to Spain on Friday ended with Ferrari leading the way from Mercedes, while Red Bull could only manage third fastest overall courtesy of Max Verstappen. But its chances of victory are far from remote with a deeper dig into the times despite Ferrari's strong start...
The key aspects of Porsche and Audi's planned F1 entries
The VW Group’s German superpowers of sportscar racing have all but confirmed they are coming to F1 when the next set of engine rules come into force in 2026. Here's why both manufacturers are all set to take the plunge, and crucially how it might work
How Vegas went from byword for F1 indifference to grand Liberty coup
Holding a race in Las Vegas – party central, a city of dreams and decadence and, yes, more than a smattering of tackiness – has been on Liberty Media’s most-wanted list since it acquired Formula 1’s commercial rights. But, as LUKE SMITH explains, F1 has been here before and the relationship didn’t work out