Crash, bang, wallop! Russell gives Bottas a slap after collision
Russell gives Bottas a slap after collision as Max beats Hamilton
GEORGE RUSSELL, who wants to be heir or rival to Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes, produced the image of an eventful Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix by slapping over the head the man he crashed into at 200mph.
That target was not just anybody, but the person he wants to replace in the seat — Valtteri Bottas.
It could have been quite a lot worse than what thankfully transpired as they collided on lap 32 of a race won brilliantly by Max Verstappen of Red Bull, with Hamilton second after a great recovery.
At that speed on a slightly wet track, who knows what horror might have unfolded when Bottas and Russell met the end of their races.
‘Is he trying to kill us both?’ asked Russell, the 23-year-old Williams driver from Norfolk.
Over the radio, he called Bottas ‘a f ****** p***k’ and marched over from his stricken machine to confront the Finn, who was winded by the crash.
Russell, his hand open, gave him a tap on his head. Bottas made a onefingered gesture of his own in spirited response.
They had been battling for ninth place when Russell made his move into the first chicane. He believes Bottas moved to the right, cutting into his path, and that may be true. But Russell ran on to the wet grass and lost control. In my view, Russell was a touch impetuous but, there again, if Bottas had been running where he ought to have been in a dazzling Mercedes he would have been out of sight already. The race was delayed for 30 minutes as the extensive debris was cleared from the Imola track on which patchy rain had fallen. There were sensitivities to the fore. Russell is a Mercedes-affiliated driver and is desperate to move up next year. He probably will — and so he ought. I go back to the point that Bottas, who qualified eighth, was effectively nowhere. It was even more awkward because Russell was being lapped by Hamilton — who had started on pole but was quite brilliantly Skilled: Max Verstappen celebrates his win passed by Verstappen at the start — when he, too, went into the barriers in the mid-point of the race, finally reversing out and charging back from ninth into second place.
Russell said: ‘Valtteri and I will clear the air. In the heat of the moment there is a lot of emotion but I don’t intend to hold any grudges or have a bad relationship with any driver on the grid. I am sure we will have a phone call this week to put it behind us.
‘Your heart stops for a moment when you crash at over 200mph. You don’t know what is going to happen.
‘My anger at the time was that I thought he had put us both in harm’s way and it was an incredibly scary incident at that speed. But fortunately we both walked away
without any battle scars. It could have been very different.
‘The track was going to the left, I was squeezed slightly to the right and that was where the dampness was. Should I have reacted how I did afterwards, in the heat of the moment? Probably not, but the emotions were very high.
‘When you can look at everything in slow motion and from all angles it all looks different. I have never had a crash at the end of the straight when we are absolutely flat out.
‘I would have reacted the same if I was battling for the win, for ninth or for last because I felt it was unnecessary and avoidable.
‘Valtteri did nothing outside the rules but you have to take an element of responsibility.
‘When it is a damp track and there is a kink and you are pushing someone on to the grass at over 200mph, there is a high risk of an incident. That is why I was disappointed because I thought that was beyond a lack of respect.’ As for the confrontation? ‘A slap is a very strong word. It was nothing more than a brush and I would have been very shocked if he even felt it. It was more of, “What are you doing?”
‘I am sure a footballer will have reacted in a different way but there was nothing menacing there, almost as if you were just throwing your hands up in the air.’
As for the wider race, Lando Norris of McLaren, who is maturing well, finished third with a fine drive.
And for the championship, it was a very commendable performance by Verstappen, who should have won in Bahrain three weeks ago only to fail to make his overtaking move stick.
He was pretty much faultless yesterday and is now a point back from Hamilton, victor in Bahrain and setter of the fastest lap yesterday.
Rain fell before the race, with most drivers starting on intermediate tyres. Hamilton, in conflict with Verstappen, ran over the kerbs at the opening corner.
Bump, bump and he lost his front-wing endplate. He finished 22 seconds back.