Unrepentant Raikkonen says he would repeat Bottas move

2015 Russian Grand Prix

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Kimi Raikkonen says he would attempt the same move on Valtteri Bottas again despite being penalised for the last-lap tangle between the pair in the Russian Grand Prix.

The stewards held Raikkonen responsible for the collision and gave him a ten-second stop-go penalty – one of the toughest sanctions available. This was converted into a 30-second time penalty after the race and Raikkonen was also given three points on his licence.

However Raikkonen defended his driving at the time and said today his view of the collision “hasn’t changed”.

“Obviously there was some discussions and obviously [a] penalty’s given to me but I still would do it tomorrow again,” said Raikkonen.

“That doesn’t change the story and unfortunately we came together in the end and we both lost a bit. That’s life, you know, that’s racing. I don’t feel bad about it and if somebody feels it’s up to them it’s OK for me. Like I said I would still do the same thing next time and see if maybe it goes better.”

Valtteri Bottas, who joined Raikkonen in the official FIA press conference, also said his “opinion hasn’t changed” and he “wouldn’t do anything different” in a similar situation.

Raikkonen had justified his attempt to pass Bottas at turn four on the last lap of the race because he had already overtaken the Williams driver once before at the same corner. However Bottas said the two moves were not similar.

“From my point of view the first one was quite a different one,” said Bottas, “it was much more clear that he could do it and of course for me as a driver I’m not going to leave the door open two times. So for me it was a different kind of situation as we saw from the result.”

Raikkonen added that once he had committed to the move there was no way to avoid a collision.

“Once you’ve decided to go there I tried to brake and turn in as much as I can but there’s no way to avoid it,” he said. “That why I mean, what can you do?”

“Once you go there you’re either going to do it or not and once I saw obviously that he’s coming I don’t know, maybe he didn’t expect or didn’t see me but tried to slow down and turn in but you know in the end if there’s no space there’s no space and we’re going to collide.”

“[It’s an] unfortunate thing but it’s a part of racing and if you get penalised sometimes, sometimes not and we are here to race and it’s pointless to cry afterwards. I’m sure that people like it more like that than just following each other.”

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    Keith Collantine
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    74 comments on “Unrepentant Raikkonen says he would repeat Bottas move”

    1. Hey made a move that didn’t work, ruined another drivers race, resulted in a penalty that hurt him and the team, and is willing to do the same again. not sure that anyone can rationalize that sort of thinking in a driver.

      1. Yea, that… unless we’re talking about the firmly established legends.

      2. yes, he will do it again, because in the end it helped him to avoid Bottas surpass him in the championship, and instead got another few points of air between the two of them. So its quite clear to see that the outcome was in his favour, and it’s not a big surprise he would do it again.

        1. I’m unrepentant and continue to think he is a driver that does not think.
          Bull in a chinashop – he whole attitude to everything is ridiculous – he is best to be avoided.
          Shame – he in my eyes has put himself in the same league as Maldonado – Massa – Grosjan.
          All to be avoided if you ever are in the same race as them.

          1. And what about Hungary when Hamilton hit ricciardo after the restart, is he in the same league as Maldonado?
            What about Ricciardo in Monaco? What about Jenson ramming Maldonado in China?
            I dont understand why people are so harsh on Kimi?
            He is a very fierce wheel to wheel racer and he ‘RARELY’ makes a mistake while overtaking. That is one quality about him that no other driver can top, maybe only Alonso.
            He has 20 wins to his name, and a total of 79 podiums. How many do Massa,Grosjean etc have?
            So go and check your facts and please dont refer a world champion as a crash prone driver. Period.

            1. I’m unrepentant and stick to what I said – sorry if you’re a hardened Kimi fan.
              But lets face – with his whole attitude about everything – he does not give a care in the world what we think and what we do.
              I just lost faith in the man by not admitting his wrong.
              What would have made me appreciate him as a driver and person – if he would have admitted he made a mistake and apologised to Bottas for this.
              Then I would be in your camp and would have thought a lot of this man – and that is a fact.

      3. Kimi didn’t mean he would crash into Bottas again, but he would try the same move again.
        He tried to pass him, it didn’t work out, Bottas had to retire, Kimi got penalised. End of the story.
        There is nothing to discuss about.

        It’s funny and unfair how people are judging Kimi just by that single misjudgement.
        I didn’t hear people bash Ricciardo at Monaco, when he pulled a similar move on Kimi at Mirabeau.
        There wasn’t even half a car-width of space, Ricciardo hit Kimi’s right rear tyre and got ahead of him.
        The stewards didn’t do anything, despite it being an unfair manoeuvre.

        The thing I don’t understand is: Why do people bash Kimi for that manoeuvre and compare him to crash-pilots like Maldonado, while others get away with it or even get credit for trying such a pass.

        1. I don’t think that many would “bash Kimi” for his driving style, or trying to beat the competition. And it is true that on many occasions drivers get away with bad moves with very little if any criticism. The difference in this case is that only Kimi is saying that even with hindsight “he would do it again”. Which means that even after paying a dear price he didn’t learn from his mistake, and would be willing to repeat it. Did Bottas run wide and then shut the door? maybe, but as a driver you have to know that two wrongs just won’t get you the result that you are looking for. The team and the fans expect a little more from top drivers.

        2. The thing is though @srga91, that move had not other potential outcoming apart from hitting Bottas. So if he would have done it again, it means that he is either satisfied with that, or that he is thinking along the lines of Maldonado, where its always the other guy at fault, regardless of reality.

        3. @srga91 i agree that ricciardo’s move on raikkonen at monaco was grossly unfair. it was ludicrous that he wasn’y penalised at the time. however, what kimi did to bottas was worse – it was just so clumsy and unlike his usual style.

          i thought his penalty was actually quite lenient given that he ended another driver’s race. if that had been for the lead, or to decide a championship he would have been hung from a flagpole! i hate the inconsistency with which such penalties are applied.

          1. @frood19
            I think the 10 sec stop&go-penalty (or 30 sec time-penalty) was pretty fair.
            Kimi didn’t just ruin Bottas’ race but his own as well. That might’ve influenced the stewards’ decision.
            If he had carried on with no damage to his car, the penalty could’ve been harsher.

            However this must not influence the stewards’ decision. It doesn’t matter what happened afterwards. IMO just the move/pass has to be judged and not the outcome of it.
            In this case Kimi should’ve been penalised even if Bottas had carried on and finished the race with no damage to this car.

      4. I’m all for drivers that attempt overtakes and are aggressive (see Lewis Hamilton, Daniel Ricciardo, baby Verstappen…).

        But that move by Raikkonen was just clumsy and awkward. If he does that again hopefully he will get a double penalty and grid position penalty on the next race.

      5. You are all missing the point.

        If bottas had taking avoiding action everyone would be saying what a great overtake kimi did.

        ‘He’s going for the inside, he’s coming in hard, Bottas has had to move, Kimi’s thru! my word that was a brave move’

        1. How can you call something a ‘brave move’ about something that was impossible to do??????
          He can do this move another 1000 times to anyone and it still would not work out.
          A driver of his experience should know this – and he is not even admitting to it that this was impossible and he would do this again.
          A donkey only hits his head once on a wall.
          Sad for all the hardened Kimi fans – that’s all I can say. This has nothing to do with how often he had good moves.
          I would have thought of him more of a man if he admitted his fault – and he would have had my appreciation – but this way – I think is the same as Maldonado – Massa – Grosjean – all spoiled brads that never admit they are wrong – always have excuses and point fingers somewhere else.
          They are all fast drivers – but it is the honest and thinking ones that have the edge.
          This was mindless

          1. “Impossible to do” Did you read the article? He had already done it on Bottas before!

          2. I’m always very tolerant of people’s shortcomings, as long as they are good persons.

    2. If you don’t buy a ticket, you can’t win the raffle. This time Räikkönen didn’t win, simple as that IMO.

      1. Which would have been fine if he had only ruined his own race!

      2. @hadws I agree. If everyone was always super carefull and had to think his moves over for half a race we’d get no overtakes, let alone spectacular ones. He tried a optimistic move on the last lap and it didn’t work out, it happend to the best. Hamilton in Germany last year was a bit optimistic on several occasions but nobody was complaining then because he made them work (sort of).

        1. If you don’t buy a ticket, you can’t win

          This was more like buying a lottery ticket. There was the tiniest of chances that Bottas would see him.

          I’m not berating him for it. He is a racer, and doesn’t make these mistakes often. He is certainly no Maldonado. However, it was a mistake. At best, it was very optimistic. He lunged from a long way back, giving Bottas no indication beforehand. By the time any driver would have noticed that move, it was too late to do anything about it.

          There was always a small chance. If things had worked slightly differently, he may have been far enough alongside Bottas before the apex that he could take avoiding action. Or he may not have made it quite as far up the inside, and had chance to take avoiding action himself. But I do believe that making this move was a mistake.

    3. Stuart Becktell
      22nd October 2015, 18:27

      I don’t think he is saying he would hit Bottas again, I think he’s saying he would try a last lap pass again and hope that the move comes off better than it did in Russia.

      1. That does seem the more likely explanation.

    4. Typical F1 Driver self centered ego, but pretty stupid, in my opinion. Even if he THINKS that, to publicly say it, is dumb. Because the stewards now know he has not repented from his “sin”. Should he commit a similar kamikaze move during the Austin GP, the penalties could be draconian.

      There are times, you should swallow your pride and keep your thoughts to yourself, at the risk of making a bad situation worse. Why Ferrari re-signed him is beyond me. A “has been” on the downward of his career, with little to offer Ferrari in return. I think Seb wanted him to stay because the chance of being exposed like Ricciardo did when both raced at RBR would not be good.

      1. There are times, you should swallow your pride and keep your thoughts to yourself

        If you expected that from Kimi you’re a fool.

        People here are always praising Webber when he speaks his mind, but when other drivers do it, people bash them…

        1. Someone can speak their mind, but that isn’t a licence go talk nonsense. I don’t understand Kimi, it was a ridiculous lunge, something straight out of GP3, not the driving of a top F1 driver. Maybe he could apologise, buy hey obviously not.

          1. …and that’s the whole point. Formula One drivers are expected to have the best race
            driving skills in the world. That’s why the get an F1 seat, because under pressure they are
            expected to excel in all departments. Their split-second judgments are what win races, or
            conversely lose them everything. It’s what they are supposed to be better at than any other
            class of race driver.

            I have admired Kimi Raikonnen since he first came into F1. He always had it….that amazing
            ability to make quick-fire decisions and like as not pull them off. But what he did at Sochi was
            so amateurish, so poorly calculated, that he must be having a hard time justifying to himself,
            let alone the rest of F1, that what he did was anything other than a massive miscalculation
            which was so bad it would trouble any driver in the top echelon.

            And worst of all, while driving a premier team’s car, he destroyed the race of a first-class
            up-and-coming driver whose team desperately needed a podium finish, and which Bottas
            through superb skill and determination was providing for them. And make no mistake,
            no matter how many times you look at the replay, the corner was the Williams driver’s
            and no-one coming from where Kimi came from had the least claim on that corner.

            Bang to rights, Kimi, bang to rights.

          2. Maybe he could apologise, buy hey obviously not.

            @john-h Charlie Whiting asked both Kimi and Valtteri to take part in a meeting. Guys had Finnish discussion between them and they don’t seem to be on bad terms. So my guess is Kimi has apologised to Valtteri.

            1. @huhhii sure you’re right. Would be nice to hear some public contrition though, especially as this is exactly the sort of thing we attack Maldonado for.

      2. @svianna

        I think Seb wanted him to stay because the chance of being exposed like Ricciardo did when both raced at RBR would not be good.

        No, because they were friends, even back when Kimi was performing visibly better than he is now.

      3. I think Seb wanted him to stay because the chance of being exposed like Ricciardo did when both raced at RBR would not be good.

        @svianna And if your sick of this excuse you’ll find another one to tarnish Vettel his reputation? Live with it, the man is one of (if not the) top dog of F1 at the moment. It’s a shame his car isn’t. It’s not for nothing he was voted as the best driver of the first half of the season, and a little birdie tells me he’ll stand a good chance against Hamilton at the vote at the end too.

        1. When opinions clash, we should resort to facts: In 2014, Ricciardo (in his maiden year with RBR) scored 71 points more than Seb. Don’t get me wrong; I think Seb is a fine driver, but it did not look good for a 4-time WDC to be outscored (and outraced a number of times) by his teammate.

          1. True enough @svianna 2014 did not look good for Vettel. He has even said that he himself started to doubt himself for a while that year.

            But that does not mean that Vettel liking Kimi as a teammate has anything to do with Kimi not performing. I just think Vettel knows, and Ferrari have realised as well after years of Alonso, that its very important to have the drivers work together in a harmonious way. And these two have been friends for a while now, get along well and that is very important too.

      4. @svianna You think Seb is keeping KR around so he’s not ‘made the fool’?
        You’re the fool if you can’t see SV’s merit. Your pony RIC isn’t doing squat this year and you’re a bit bummed? Get a grip

      5. Actually i think he says it more that he believes it.
        This guys do not like appearing less aggressive so as to give the impression to the other drivers that they should back down when they come wheel to wheel on the race track.

    5. I know his move on the last lap was a bit optimistic as he desperately needs to attain better results and more podiums, but he has a genuine point, he outbraked and passed Bottas at the same corner mid-race. It was an exact replica move by Kimi but Bottas responded in quite a different fashion the second time I’d say, I mean who wants to lose a podium on the last lap. But to say that Raikkonen’s move was crazy is a bit harsh. Had Bottas limped to the finish line the stewards wouldn’t have been nearly as harsh. It was unfortunate that they came together but thats racing.

    6. Nothing wrong in saying he’d go for the move again. He didn’t make the move cleanly this time, looked quite clumsy from the onboard to be honest. But no driver is flawless 100% of the time and he’s right another day he might pull that move off far better.

      If a driver causes incidents time and time again then you can start to point the finger. I think given how clean Kimi normally races he can be afforded the benefit of the doubt this time, even if it was a bad pass.

      1. I can see your point. He doesn’t seem to resent being awarded the penalty, so does he hw think it was a fair punishment?

        1. I doubt very much that someone like Raikkonen thinks he needs parenting and probably does resent being put on the naughty step with penalty points.

    7. The real Kimi Raikkonen was kidnapped at the end of 2007 and replaced by a look-a-like driver with a mere fraction of his talent.

      1. nah, he must have gone missing when Lotus failed to pay him on time. Ferrari go his twinbrother, the one that raced for them in 2009 already.

        Just as witty and clever with words, but not quite a good behind the wheel

        1. @bascb
          Even in his Lotus days, Raikkonen’s biggest strength was his ability to keep his nose clean. We never really saw any spectacular drives from him as we did from 2003 to 2007. Nor did we see any immense qualifying laps (something Kimi hasn’t done since 2006/07).

          1. @kingshark 2013 China. Stunner lap from that Lotus.

          2. @xtwl
            That was absolutely nothing compared to these laps:

            Silverstone 2004 – beats the superior Ferrari cars
            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZlpWqRhfns

            Monaco 2005 – out qualifies Alonso by half a second
            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Va4rbre9h9Q

            Monza 2005 – outqualifies Montoya by 0.2 seconds with 10 kg more fuel onboard
            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4Ga1FklrPs

            Monza 2006 – beats Schumacher across the line with an inferior McLaren
            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2yNkBox35o

            In 2006 he took 3 back-to-back pole positions in the third best car. At Lotus he couldn’t take a single pole position, even when it was the second best car.

            1. @kingshark I agree that lap wasn’t as good as those you pointed out but it still was a very good lap. I don;t agree the Lotus was ever the second best car on one lap though…

            2. @xtwl
              At Australia 2012, Hungary 2012, China 2013, and USA 2013 – Lotus was beat by only one other constructor on the grid.
              Malaysia 2012, Monaco 2012, and Hungary 2013 weren’t far off either. On all three occasions, pole was less than 0.300 seconds away.

              On the majority of occasions I listed above (5 out of 7), it was Grosjean who was the nearest challenger, not Kimi.

              If a 25 year old Kimi had been driving those Lotus cars, I have no doubt he’d have taken at least 2 or 3 pole positions.

            3. @kingshark 7 races on 38 events is hardly worth the title ‘second best car’…? I agree Kimi was a lot faster when he was younger but evne then I’d doubt he’d been able to beat Q-masters such as Vettel and Hamilton.

            4. @xtwl
              Oh yes, I was talking about individual weekends. Lotus was only the 3rd/4th best qualifying car overall, but 2nd best every now and then.

              Indeed, Vettel and Hamilton are Q-masters. Then again, every now and then Rosberg can convincingly beat Hamilton qualifying, sometimes by up to 3 tenths. Those 3 tenths would have been enough to get the Lotus on pole on five or six occasions.

            5. @kingshark I saw Silverstone 2004 in the flesh, and Raikkonen was the best driver on the track. With the B-spec McLaren he was the only one that could take it to Schumacher, leading the race in the first half. Eventually, Schumi made the pace of the F2004 pay and took the win, but it was a foreshadowing of what was to come in 2005, pace-wise.

              After Schumi, Kimi was definitely the fastest on the grid for a good year or two, followed by Alonso ever since, then Hamilton and lately Vettel. Massa and Rosberg got close, now followed by Ricciardo, Bottas etc. I agree on the poles in the Lotus scenario.

        2. @bascb I’d say Massa is the one with the replacement brother, he even joins in with the F1 driver pics on DC?’s Monaco jet! Kimi has a back issue like Bottas, but he has also just turned 36.

      2. No, the real Raikkonen seemed to have always stayed in the Mclaren motorhome. Even when he won in 2007 he wasn’t very impressive.

    8. I don’t think I believe he’d do it again. It was so out of character.

      Of course he is fantastically stubborn, so when he’s challenged about it he’s not going to give any ground.

      But they do get involved in more incidents as they get to mid-thirties and beyond, so I’m hoping it’s not the start of a trend.

      1. I think that once he has done with F1 (or vice versa), that Kimi should try Rallycross.

    9. Kimi, I really think you should consider a new career

    10. I still in my opinion think it was the same as Ricciardo on him in Monaco, dive down the inside his front hits car in front on the rear tyre and spins it off. Ricciardo got away with it Raikkonen did not but 2 wrongs do not make a right for me, both should have been punished. Cannot help but feel as he had been on the receiving end of it and thought he could do the same but he should not, get over it Ricciardo got away with it but does not mean you can do the same.

      Saying that look at Hungary 1990 when both McLarens turfed cars off but in those days it was a racing incident.

      Thing is with penalties and blame now having to be made on top of aero hurting overtakes even when you get a chance it’s now make it or a penalty so drivers might as well not try to overtake unless they are 100 percent sure which means all overtakes will look like drs passes or a driver letting you through.

    11. It was a daft move that was never going to work. But in this era of ultra-predictable DRS passes, we should be welcoming this sort of driving with open arms. Good on you, Kimi.

    12. Mr.Smiley in Monaco good move, the sport needed it.

      Kimi bad move, out of hand, bad boy..

      Hmmm.

    13. Head, meet desk.

      …anyone got an aspirin?

    14. Spoken like a true but waning champion Kimi.

    15. Totally support him in this. He’s a racing driver. He thought the opportunity was there, so he took it. Like that line from Senna’s interview with Jackie Stewart – “if you no longer go for a gap that exists, you’re no longer a racing driver”. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. That’s racing. We watch F1 for moments like these. Of course in this case it ended in a crash and a retirement, and that is unfortunate and the penalty was warranted. But if drivers never take a risk, we are only watching a procession, which isn’t exciting.

      1. You go for gap when is not miles away though. He was too far back to try to get into any gap. That made his move wrong. Why can’t people realize that?
        I’m all for going for a gap but it has to be gap you can actually reach. He completely lunched himself and still he only hit the back wheel of Bottas. That shows how far back he was.

        The whole “Bottas could have avoided it” excuses have no merit because there is no way any driver would expect someone lunching like that. The only way to see him is by getting lucky to glimpse at the right second in the mirror and there are very limited chances of that.

    16. Kimi was in that space because Bottas left the door open and closed it at the final moment.

      I am with Kimi. Now that Bottas knows he will ruin his race, maybe he will leave some space when a car is on the side.

      Kimi might have deemed wrong this time around but as a racer, you have to go for that move when there is a gap available.

      1. when there is a gap available

        Except, there was no gap available. Hence the collision, the penalty, the loss of position and points, finally handing the WCC to Mercedes.

        A gap is only a gap if you actually fit through it, otherwise… It’s not a gap.

        1. @psynrg There is a gap. Bottas took wide racing line approaching the corner and he just closed it without looking back. Kimi going for that door, and looking at previous laps, he got the tires to make the corner. This is not a banzai move where he will overshoot the corner if Bottas wasn’t there. So I’m actually happy Kimi said he will do it again, because that means he still got the motivation to race.

          I think people think (and understandably so) that Kimi can’t make the corner with that speed. But at that time the Ferrari tires are noticeably better than the rest and he still going 1s faster than Bottas. I think Bottas engineers should warn him that Kimi can going much faster than he is and Bottas should do some defensive driving approaching that corner. In the end, for me it’s just racing incident. Probably worth 5s or 10s penalty but definitely not 10s stop-go and 3 license points.

          1. You go for the gap when is not miles away though. He was too far back to try to get into any gap. That made his move wrong. Why can’t people realize that?
            I’m all for going for a gap but it has to be gap you can actually reach. He completely lunched himself and still he only hit the back wheel of Bottas. That shows how far back he was.
            You people talk like they were side by side or something and Bottas closed the door. No Kimi barely got to his back wheel.

            The whole “Bottas could have avoided it” excuses have no merit because there is no way any driver would expect someone lunching like that. The only way to see him is by getting lucky to glimpse at the right second in the mirror and there are very limited chances of that.

    17. Hej, just see what Bottas says after all: ” as a driver I’m not going to leave the door open two times”

      What I read from this is – he knew that KR was there ! And he just closed the gate knowing what he did !
      Why then he cry about what happened ?!

      1. +1
        I get the same feeling when I read his comments. It almost feels like Bottas expected this would happen and did it anyway so that he does not look bad in the eyes of his team. Also, I can’t believe the number of people bashing Kimi here. I watched that move and glad he did what he did. He tried to overtake and it did not work. Simple. There is no risk-free overtake move. If the car in front decides to block your way, then a collision is imminent. It is only a bad move in the eyes of the fans who thinks only DRS overtakes are good and everything else is risky. Also, Kimi got the penalty only because Bottas had to retire. Otherwise, this would have been hailed as a brilliant move.

        1. You go for the gap when is not miles away though. He was too far back to try to get into any gap. That made his move wrong. Why can’t people realize that?
          I’m all for going for a gap but it has to be gap you can actually reach. He completely lunched himself and still he only hit the back wheel of Bottas. That shows how far back he was.
          You people talk like they were side by side or something and Bottas closed the door. No Kimi barely got to his back wheel.

          The whole “Bottas could have avoided it” excuses have no merit because there is no way any driver would expect someone lunching like that. The only way to see him is by getting lucky to glimpse at the right second in the mirror and there are very limited chances of that.

    18. I don’t understand some of the comments here complaining about the move or the fact KR said he would do it again!

      By being a racing driver you are under risk all the time. By being a racing driver means you are racing with other people. And if you no longer go for a gap that exists, you are no longer a racing driver because we are competing, we are competing to win. And the main motivation to all of us is to compete for victory, it’s not to come 3rd, 4th, 5th or 6th. I race to win as long as I feel it’s possible. Sometimes you get it wrong? Sure, it’s impossible to get it right all the time. But I race designed to win, as long as I feel I’m doing it right.

      – Senna

      He saw a gap and went for it. Sure it was going to be an ever closing gap, but how many times did Senna lunge up the inside of someone hoping that they would yield, knowing it would end in crash if they didn’t? And he is considered the best racer ever! When and why did people start complaining about people trying to race? I hear people constantly saying: Ooh boo hoo F1 isn’t what it used to be it’s all gimmicky and rubbish! Then the same group of people complaining when someone actually tries to race, go for that position with a do or die attitude that was reminiscent of the ‘golden years’. I’m sorry but I don’t follow? You want the ‘golden years’ back yet complain when someone actually does something they would have done and been applauded for in those years? You keep complaining that the powers running F1 don’t know what they are doing (which maybe they don’t) yet you don’t even seem to know what you want yourselves!

      1. You go for the gap when is not miles away though. He was too far back to try to get into any gap. That made his move wrong. Why can’t people realize that?
        I’m all for going for a gap but it has to be gap you can actually reach. He completely lunched himself and still he only hit the back wheel of Bottas. That shows how far back he was.
        You people talk like they were side by side or something and Bottas closed the door. No Kimi barely got to his back wheel.

        The whole “Bottas could have avoided it” excuses have no merit because there is no way any driver would expect someone lunching like that. The only way to see him is by getting lucky to glimpse at the right second in the mirror and there are very limited chances of that.

    19. Kimi fans are finding less and less excuses these days. This incident and driver error botched start at Monza really suggest it’s time to re-retire imho.

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