Bottas clear to race after crashing at 130mph
Mercedes driver hits barriers in practice Ferrari’s Leclerc sets the pace in Austria
Valtteri Bottas was taken to the medical centre after crashing out of second practice for the Austrian Grand Prix yesterday.
Bottas lost control of his Mercedes at 130mph through the left-handed sixth corner before slamming into the barriers. The Finn sustained serious damage to the front of his car.
Bottas emerged from his cockpit before heading to the on-track hospital after he triggered an impact of more than 25G. He was later given the all-clear by doctors.
Bottas’s incident was the second flashpoint at the Red Bull Ring after Max Verstappen also crashed out.
The Dutchman was taking the penultimate corner when his Red Bull snapped away from him. Verstappen spun backwards into the barriers, writing off the rear of his car. Like Bottas, he would play no further part in the session.
There was drama, too, for Sebastian Vettel, who produced an almost carboncopy of Verstappen’s mistake, but avoided any damage, the German coming to a halt before the barriers. He managed to limp back to the pits in his Ferrari.
Vettel’s team-mate, Charles Leclerc, set the pace, the Monegasque finishing a third of a second faster than anybody else. Mercedes have won every race this season, but Leclerc’s pace will provide the Scuderia with the hope they can finally challenge the all-conquering Silver Arrows tomorrow.
Bottas’s time before his accident was good enough for second, with the Red Bull of Pierre Gasly third.
Lewis Hamilton, who heads into tomorrow’s race with a 36-point championship lead over Bottas, topped the time charts in the opening running, but could finish only fourth later in the day.
The world champion, who is aiming for his fifth successive victory after dominating in France last weekend, finished 0.443 sec down on Leclerc.
Vettel, whose session was compromised by his spin, ended the day down in eighth.
Mclaren are enjoying something of a resurgence this year, and Carlos Sainz posted the fifth quickest time. The Spaniard was within half a second of Leclerc. His team-mate, British teenager Lando Norris, finished 10th, more than 0.4sec off Sainz.
George Russell again held the advantage over his Williams team-mate Robert Kubica. Russell was an eyewatering 1.3sec faster than the struggling Pole.
Russell signed to the Mercedes junior programme in 2017, shadowing Hamilton for two years, before team principal Toto Wolff engineered his move to Williams.
“If Toto called me tomorrow and said ‘Are you ready to drive for Mercedes?’, my answer would be absolutely,” Russell said.