Valtteri Bottas has been handed a three-place grid penalty, dropping him to the back of the field for Saturday’s Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix Sprint after a collision with Oscar Piastri during Sprint Qualifying.
The Sauber driver, who originally qualified 18th, was caught unawares by Piastri’s McLaren entering Turn 1 of the Miami International Autodrome circuit during SQ1.
Bottas’ Sauber closed the door on the papaya car at the last moment and the pair touched, luckily escaping notable damage.
Following the incident, the Stewards declared “The primary responsibility rests with the driver to ensure that he does not place himself in a position whereby he unnecessarily impedes another driver.”
In addition, the Stewards said that “here Car 77 was driving slowly on the racing line and caused the situation that ensured.”
The Finnish driver, racing with a new engineer this weekend in Miami wasn’t happy with the incident in its immediate aftermath.
“****, that’s too late man. I had no idea,” came the call from Bottas to his engineer over team radio after the coming together with Piastri.
The Stewards noted Sauber’s part to play in the incident in their ruling, writing that the coming together was “an error on the team’s part and contributed significantly to the incident.”
Bottas looks set to be cut from the Sauber lineup next year as it prepares for the 100% takeover by German auto giant Audi, with one-half of the 2025 driving roster set in stone and the other being reserved for the likes of Carlos Sainz or Esteban Ocon.
The Hinwil-based team has already signed Nico Hülkenberg for 2025 and beyond, with Bottas nonplussed regarding the announcement in Thursday’s press conference, saying “He’s German, and Audi has made it pretty clear that they want a German driver, so it’s all good.”
It’s telling that Bottas’ Sprint Qualifying incident comes as he has been saddled with a new engineer which the Finn said “not in my hands.
“It was quite a sudden change,” Bottas said on Thursday. “Obviously, it’s a Sprint weekend, so working with a fresh guy will be not easy, but obviously trying to make the most out of it.”
Bottas Sauber problems have been persistent in 2024, from slow-pit stops to reliability issues costing the multiple Grands Prix winner a chance at claiming points and Miami is poised to be another challenging weekend.
“Today has been a rather challenging day in the office,” he said.
“We unfortunately got caught in traffic during my push lap.
“I went off track after a close encounter with a McLaren, and the tyres never really recovered their temperature after that.
“Tomorrow’s starting positions for the Sprint are definitely not ideal; there is still a lot we can learn about the car, though, and as it’s still early in the weekend, we can try and turn this around for Sunday’s main event.”
Time is ticking for the enigmatic Bottas to get the results needed to put himself firmly on rival teams’ radar in what is an extremely volatile driver market.
With Sauber struggling, the platform for Bottas to do so is becoming increasingly difficult.
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