Gabriel Bortoleto has been handed a five-place grid drop for Qatar after his Lap 1 collision with Lance Stroll at Formula 1‘s Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Bortoleto arrived at the Las Vegas Strip Circuit hoping to make amends after a crash-ridden home race weekend in Brazil.
Starting from 18th on the grid, however, turned into yet another nightmarish race for the Sauber driver on the opening lap.
Trying to make up places, the 21-year-old rookie missed his braking marks as he bundled into the Aston Martin of Stroll into Turn 1.
Several other cars were also caught up in the ensuing melee, with the Canadian driver suffering terminal damage to the back-end of his AMR25.
Bortoleto retired on the very next lap as the stewards adjudged him at fault for causing the collision.
Noting that the Brazilian driver had “braked extremely late”, Bortoleto was handed a 10-second time penalty.
That said, because he retired and could not serve the penalty during the 50-lap race, as per the guidelines, he has been imposed with a five-place grid drop for Qatar.
The 21-year-old has also accumulated two penalty points on his FIA superlicense.
“It was my fault. I think I just misjudged the grip that I had and where I was on track,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“I had a very good launch and went for a move on the inside of the Williams, and when I put the car on the left-hand side of the Williams, it was already time to brake and I broke like five metres too late, then just arrived a bit too long in the corner.
“I had no angle to do the corner because I was completely on the inside, and just misjudged it. It was my fault.”
Stroll has also brushed his DNF away as a racing incident, not wishing to place the blame on the Brazilian’s head.
“It happens. It’s racing. Sometimes these things happen and it is what it is,” lamented the Aston Martin driver.
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