Valtteri Bottas has been handed a three-place grid penalty for ‘dangerous driving’ in the pitlane during FP2 this afternoon.
The Finnish Mercedes driver was taking off after his pit for a set of hard tyres during the second practice session when he accelerated too hard and lost control of his car and skidded across the pit lane.
He slid towards the McLaren pit team, who then gave him a hand by pointing him in the right direction.
The stewards had said they would review the incident once the session was over, and have now come to their decision.
In a statement, the Stewards said; “When [Bottas] pulled away from his designated pit stop position he lost control of the car when he turned into the fast lane.
“He oversteered, spun and came to a stop across the fast lane near the McLaren pits.
“During the hearing [Bottas] stated that in the past they have been losing time in the pit departure.
“So they tried something new, which was to leave in second gear. As a result, the wheel spin was much higher and the result unexpected.
“Therefore he didn’t manage to control the car properly into the fast lane.
“This has to be considered as potentially dangerous driving, especially as personnel were around in the pit lane.”
Bottas wasn’t expecting to receive any kind of penalty following the unlucky spin. After the session he told reporters; “I would be surprised if there is [any penalty]. It’s a normal mistake, it happens, but yes, I’m sure they’ll understand what happened.
“I spun. We tried something different getting out from the box and yes, there were some variables to what we normally do with the wheelspin and that’s why I spun.”
The stewards decision will see Bottas start no higher than 4th for Sunday’s race which will be a major blow for the Mercedes team who are working to catch up with their closest competitors, Red Bull.
