Valtteri Bottas and George Russell were lucky to walk away after a horrible crash at the 2021 Imola GP
The 2021 Imola GP already had a ton of incidents to speak about even before the race started. It all started in qualifying as rising F1 star Lando Norris saw his excellent time deleted as he was going to start in third.
That was the right decision as he crossed track limits and more was to come before the race too. Rain played a part as the track was wet before the race and some cars even slid off before the formation lap.
The race also had a lot of incident early on as cars slid due to the wet track. Drama was on every corner as Lewis Hamilton went off in the 34th lap as he tried to overtake back-markers.
Hamilton was chasing down Max Verstappen but there was something bigger waiting on the track. Hamilton might have thought his race was done but he saw his teammate, Valtteri Bottas, and George Russell crash big time on the straight.
Russell and Bottas smashed into the barriers and the Williams driver was upset with Bottas for moving a little to the right.
The Williams driver had to take a bit of avoiding action and went on the wet grass which saw him lose control and then smash into Bottas.
Was Valtteri Bottas at fault for the crash?
Russell was furious with Bottas and even tapped him in the head as the two made their way out of their cars.
Fortunately, both seemed to be alright but the race was red flagged. Other replays suggested that Bottas gave Russell enough room on the track to make the move but this was a horrific crash.
The drivers behind the pair were extremely lucky not to get tangled up and it was a bit of a miracle that the race was started barely 30 minutes after the crash.
This was another reminder of how dangerous a sport F1 is, and it is a testament to the build of the cars as to how they kept the drivers safe.
More Formula One news:
- Yuki Tsunoda apologises after crash ends his Imola GP qualifying early
- McLaren and Lando Norris feature in Drive to Survive Season 3 thanks to epic Austrian podium finish
- McLaren fans left broken after Lando Norris’ lap time is deleted at Imola GP
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