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Valtteri Bottas was rushed to a medical centre following a nasty crash during the Mexican Grand Prix. Going into the turn, the Finnish driver's suspension appeared to break causing the car to smash into the barrier. He managed to escape unscathed on lap 45. At the end of the straight in Mexico City, the front-left tyre burst, sparking an immediate response from race control.
As a result, a safety car was deployed which was then changed to a red flag, halting the race and forcing drivers back into the pit-lane. While the 37-year-old came away unharmed, he was taken to a nearby hospital for further assessment. Under FIA safety procedures, if an impact registers at 15 Gs or more, the driver is automatically taken to the circuit medical centre.
Bottas was at the back of the grid after being hampered at turn one when his car suffered a failure. The burst tyre on lap 45 compounded a frustrating pursuit of success in the Mexican capital.
The crash came with the 10-time Grand Prix winner travelling at nearly 200mph. In a statement, Cadillac said: "Following a precautionary medical assessment, Valtteri Bottas has been released and is okay. He has been excused from all post-race media duties, including the TV pen and written media pen.
"The team will investigate the on track incident fully." The race was forced to be halted as a result of the incident, it came at a time with Lewis Hamilton pushing for a podium but as a result of the red flag, the race flag opted to restore order and put the Brit ahead of Kimi Antonelli in third.
It meant he restarted the race behind Charles Leclerc and leader Max Verstappen. Hamilton's Ferrari teammate, Leclerc, received a five-second penalty after overtaking the seven-time world champion on the opening lap.
Hamilton was left angered by the incident in Mexico after the pair went off track together while fighting for the lead. The veteran told his team that they have "big, big problems" after he was pushed out of contention.
He said: "We've got big problems. Big, big problems." Whatever frustrations there were from Hamilton, Leclerc keeping the lead would have added fuel to his anger.
It's the latest squabble between the two Ferrari frontmen after they almost collided at the start of the Italian Grand Prix which saw Hamilton end up in the gravel. On Sunday, Hamilton was made aware of the penalty and on Lap 24, he said: "The problem with a five-second penalty is that he's got clean air. He doesn't have to manage [tyres] like the rest of us. Should just give the positions back."
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