Valtteri Bottas jokes about converting penalty into fine as he and Kevin Magnussen play down F1 Abu Dhabi GP contact, while Nico Hulkenberg adds on losing out.
It was not the end that Kick Sauber’s Bottas wanted in F1 Abu Dhabi GP, where he collected five penalty points on his superlicense for two contacts. The first was against Red Bull’s Sergio Perez on Lap 1, while the second happened much later in the race against Haas’ Magnussen.
The one against the Dane hurt him since he retired due to damage and was handed a five-place grid drop in the next F1 races he participates. As of now, Bottas doesn’t have a contract and cannot serve his penalty. But should he get a reserve chance, he will have to serve it then.
Post-race, Bottas joked about converting it to a financial penalty, while addressing the bad end which summed up his time at Sauber. “It’s a shame, today really didn’t go my way,” he said to media. “It started with the incident with Checo, I was on the inside and he took a really tight line, which he’s allowed to but I couldn’t disappear anywhere, got a penalty for it. It’s a real shame.
“In the end, I was trying to defend as hard as I could and with old tyres – and I think Kevin was just unlucky that he was where he was because I was just going straight [after locking up]. I knew the moment I locked the brake, that’s it. It is a shame but it is not the first disappointment. I am actually now relieved that this section of my career is over.
“Now it is really looking ahead and I am going to work hard and try and put up the best plan to how to be back in the grid. [I have a grid penalty?] Oh no! That’s not ideal. Maybe I can ask them if they can change it to a fine. I would pay the fine,” laughed Bottas, as he cleared it out with Magnussen after the grand prix, where the Dane was chilled out about the situation too.
Magnussen started well to be inside the Top 10, but lost out due to a slow stop. He stopped late in the race to take away the fastest lap to mark his end. “It is easy when you are the only one on new tyres and low fuel,” smiled the Dane. “No, I think the enjoyable part was Lap 1, I knew I wanted to try something special and just got close to the wall and try to make up for qualifying and I did.
“I came around P7 from P14. I was just unfortunate with the slow pit stop which ruined the race and then afterwards the contact [with Bottas]. It was a mistake from him, these things happen. I just gave it a go, give my best, nothing to show for it,” summed up Magnussen, whose teammate Hulkenberg still scored in eighth but it was no enough to beat Alpine.
The German qualified fourth but a penalty dropped him to seventh. In the end, even if he finished ahead of Pierre Gasly, it wasn’t enough to beat Alpine for sixth. “That was not fun [with the penalty], not great,” said Hulkenberg. “The circumstances kind of pushed us into it and when that happened, we didn’t know things…it is just dynamics of the sport.
“Unfortunately, we came out on the wrong side of it, so that was really unfortunate and cost us one position to Pierre. Even if we had finished P7, it wouldn’t have changed anything in the championship, so that one really slipped through our hands in Brazil unfortunately.
“They obviously took a huge chunk out of us and in Qatar too. I think their progress rate has been very impressive in last quarter of a season and here as well Pierre has driven amazingly, no mistakes, very consistent, so yeah great for him,” summed up Hulkenberg.
In other news related to Sauber, the team announced Carrie Schreiner as the team’s brand ambassador from 2025 onward after conclusion of her run in F1 Academy. She will remain part of the team and continue his racing career as well, which will be confirmed at a later stage.
“We are delighted to keep Carrie, whom we got to know so well in her current role with the team, as an integral part of our racing family, as she takes on a new role as Team Brand Ambassador,” said Mattia Binotto. “With her on-track achievements across several motorsport series, as well as her attitude and passion, I have no doubt she will bring the same energy to her new role.
“Carrie’s ability to inspire and connect with fans and stakeholders alike, together with her understanding of racing, make her the perfect fit to support the team starting from 2025.” At the same time, Schreiner added: “I’m truly proud to take on this new role as Team Brand Ambassador. It’s an honour to continue being part of this incredible team – which has now become my racing family – and to contribute to its success in new ways.
“I look forward to supporting the team’s mission, engaging with our fans and partners, while helping inspire the next generation of motorsport talent. I’m excited for what’s in store for 2025 and beyond and I am looking forward to getting started.”
Here’s how F1 Abu Dhabi GP panned out
Here’s link to a F1 Discord channel, join in to interact
