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.
Read Also:
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

Previous article
Emilia Romagna GP: Hamilton wins as Mercedes secures title
Next article
Hamilton hails Mercedes’ "unbelievable" seventh F1 title

About this article
Series | Formula 1 |
Event | Emilia-Romagna GP |
Drivers | Valtteri Bottas |
Author | Jonathan Noble |
Bottas says he couldn't avoid Vettel's broken endplate
Trending
Scuderia Ferrari Filming Day Backstage Footage
Back to Work | Valtteri Bottas' 2021 Seat Fit
F1 Explained | Mercedes Power Unit
How McLaren F1’s new investors have already made an impact
The deal McLaren concluded with MSP Sports Capital last year which will help the cash-strapped Formula 1 team pay for much-needed infrastructure upgrades, also points toward the future for F1 itself, says GP Racing's Stuart Codling.
Why Verstappen isn't interested in the hype game
In a pre-season where Red Bull has been unusually quiet, Max Verstappen has also been guarded about the team's fortunes in 2021. Even after trying the RB16B for the first time at Silverstone, the Dutchman was careful to manage expectations
The pros and cons of F1's 2021 rule changes
In the strategy for grand prix racing's future, 2021 represents a significant step towards the goal of closer racing and a more level playing field. That's the theory behind the latest raft of changes, but will they have the desired effect?
What Red Bull is trying to hide with its RB16B launch
Red Bull made no secret of the fact its 2021 F1 car is an evolution of its predecessor, but in keeping the same foundations while hiding some tightly-guarded updates with its RB16B, the team aims to avoid suffering the same pitfalls of previous years
How Albon plans to fight his way out of Red Bull limbo
Alex Albon has faced the media for the first time since he lost his Red Bull drive at the end of 2020 and dropped out of a Formula 1 race seat altogether. He has a history of bouncing back from setbacks, so here's what he must do to rise again
Ranked! Carlin's greatest F1 graduates
Carlin has helped guide enough drivers to Formula 1 to fill out an entire grid, plus a handful of reserves, to create a remarkable alumni list. With Yuki Tsunoda set to join that group, Motorsport.com has ranked its graduates to grace the grand prix scene...
Why Alfa's 2021 launch says more about its 2022 plans
Alfa Romeo launched its C41 with a revised front nose, but there's little to suggest it will surge up the leaderboard in 2021. As the team frankly admits, it's putting its eggs in the basket labelled 2022 and hoping to hold the eighth place it earned last year
Why Gasly’s AlphaTauri haven is a blessing and a curse
Red Bull opted not to re-sign Pierre Gasly even before it decided to drop Alex Albon and so the Frenchman's Formula 1 journey will continue at AlphaTauri. This has positive and negative connotations for one of last season's star performers.