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Did Bottas jump the start in Austria? F1i readers decide!

The big talking point of last weekend's Austrian Grand Prix was whether or not Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas jumped the start.

Sebastian Vettel was sure that Bottas took off before the lights went out. The FIA's data suggested otherwise, timing Bottas' reaction at a within-tolerance 0.201s. As a result, the race stewards took no further action.

We asked F1i readers what you thought. Did Bottas jump the lights, or was it simply one of the best starts ever seen in Formula 1?

Lots of you voted, and it was a clear decision if by no means unanimous. Almost two thirds (63 per cent) of you said that the start had been a fair one, while just over a third (37 per cent) thought that he should have been penalised.

As far as we're concerned that's the final word on the matter. But if you need more convincing, here's what the FIA had to say in an official statement.

"The jump start system judges whether a car has moved a pre-set (very small) distance between the point at which the last red light comes on and the point at which the lights go out.

"We have found that need to allow for some very small movement, as drivers sometimes need to make clutch adjustments in preparation for the start.

"This system, which is dependent on the official timing provided by Formula One, has been in operation for some 20 years and has proved extremely reliable in that time.

Rivals remain unconvinced over Bottas' dream start

"Valtteri Bottas did not exceed this (very small) limit before the start was given. Simply put: he made an exceptionally accurate and fortuitous judgement call, anticipating the moment the lights went out with great precision.

"Any movement prior to the moment the lights went out was within the tolerances allowed."

Vettel had been the most vocal person on the subject of Bottas' jump start. "I don’t want to take anything away from Valtteri, I think he drove an excellent race," he insisted.

"But when I said I don’t believe it, it’s because I don’t believe.

"I had a strong belief at the time that he jumped the start. Turned out he didn’t. I’m guessing that there is a reason to believe he didn’t.

"But I can’t believe that his reaction time was 0.2s. That would be normal and in my point of view his reaction was inhuman. He said earlier that he is not human!"

All eyes will be on the grid in Silverstone on Sunday to see if Bottas can repeat his inhuman feat!

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.