25/08/2018
NEWS STORY
Valtteri Bottas has been given a reprimand following the incident involving Stoffel Vandoorne in FP3.
Vandoorne, who has had a torrid start to his home Grand Prix weekend, spun on the Kemmel Straight toward the end of the session, and was left facing the wrong way following a brush with the barriers.
While at first it appeared the Belgian, who suffered a brake issue in FP1 and required a new floor in FP2, was to blame, having dipped a toe on the damp grass as he pursued teammate Fernando Alonso up the hill, it turned out that actually Valtteri Bottas was the culprit.
"Are you OK," Vandoorne was asked.
"No I'm not OK," he replied, "that Mercedes pushed me on to the grass."
Moments later, a radio message from Bottas appeared to confirm this. "I didn't see him," admitted the Finn.
The stewards subsequently reviewed video and radio evidence, as well as hearing from Bottas and Vandoorne and team representatives.
Bottas conceded the incident was his fault and that he had not seen Vandoorne approaching, despite checking his mirrors and having heard a warning message from his team.
He believed the Belgian was further behind than he actually was.
The stewards, having determined the incident was not intentional or reckless, imposed a reprimand, Bottas' first of the season.
Check out our Saturday gallery from Spa, here.