F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Leclerc, Norris pile on the criticism of Bottas

Valtteri Bottas was predictably taken aim at by several of his colleagues following the Finn's first corner blunder at the start of the Hungarian Grand Prix.

The Mercedes driver suffered a slow start from the front row and then overcooked it while braking into the first corner, hitting the McLaren of Lando Norris who then ran into Max Verstappen.

Bottas than rammed the second Red Bull of Sergio Perez, but the mayhem continued with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc harpooned by Aston Martin's Lance Stroll.

After the race was red flagged, Leclerc took to Twitter to vent his frustration. "Nice bowling game. So frustrating" wrote the Monegasque.

With Bottas, Perez, Leclerc and Stroll out on the spot, Norris was initially able to return to the pits but only for his McLaren crew to assess the damage and retire the MCL35M.

"Not much to say," Norris told Sky F1. "Just annoyed I guess.

"Lap 1, I don’t know why that has to happen, why risk doing those kind of stupid things. But nothing I can do though. Not a lot to stay."

Asked whether Bottas deserved a penalty, Norris said that he hopes the stewards would use "common sense" and sanction the Finn, especially considering that the Briton had been previously penalized for "not even doing anything wrong on other tracks".

As for Perez, the Mexican who had enjoyed a good launch off the grid called the Turn 1 pile-up "unbelievable".

“It's such a shame, I was already up to third place," Perez said.

"I outbraked the McLaren and thought I was well ahead, and unfortunately Bottas did a big mistake and just ruined our race.

"I don't know what else to say. It was all over. The engine is damaged. He went all the way into the radiator."

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Michael Delaney

Recent Posts

Prost: ‘Very difficult’ for Renault to return to F1 in the future

Four-time Formula 1 world champion Alain Prost has suggested the sport may have seen the…

2 hours ago

Ocon: Haas’ expanded partnership with Toyota is ‘fantastic’ for 2026

Esteban Ocon is brimming with optimism about Haas’ future – and a big part of…

4 hours ago

Norris looks ahead to 2026: ‘I would love to race Lewis more’

Fresh from clinching his maiden Formula 1 world championship last weekend in Abu Dhabi, Lando…

5 hours ago

Herta offers feedback on first official F2 test in Abu Dhabi

Cadillac F1 reserve driver Colton Herta made a strong start to his preparations for the…

7 hours ago

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway: Born on this day in 1909

On this day in 1909, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indiana was finally completed. The…

8 hours ago

‘Dirty games were played’: Marko exposes Horner’s lies at Red Bull

In the high-stakes world of Formula 1, where alliances shift faster than a pit stop…

9 hours ago