Russell Reveals Bottas Didn't Pick Up His Phone After Huge Imola Crash In 2021

Friday, 06 October 2023 at 17:30

Updated at Tuesday, 10 October 2023 at 22:22

George Russell revealed Alfa Romeo F1 driver Valtteri Bottas didn't pick up his phone after the 2021 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

The call related to the incident between the drivers that took place on lap 32. Back then, a Mercedes driver, Bottas driving in ninth place, was closely followed by George Russell, who got a better run on the main straight and tried to overtake around the outside into the first corner on Bottas.

The track was drying up at the time so it was imperfect dry conditions with mainly one dry racing line. As Russell tried to perform an overtake, he got one wheel on a slippery wet grass which resulted in his car spinning out of control into Valterri Bottas creating a high-speed crash putting both drivers out of the race.

Both drivers were angry in the heat of the moment and blamed the situation on the other one. Russell blamed Bottas for making a slight movement with his car, which made him go off track. Bottas, on the other hand, called the Russell's attempted overtake a move that "didn't make sense."

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In his recent appearance in Beyond the Grid podcast, Russell revealed he tried to call the Finnish driver after the race, however, the phone call was never answered. Apparently, two drivers have never spoken about the incident ever since.

‘I did give him a phone call, which he didn’t answer. My message was just, “Give me a call when you have a moment”. But we’ve never spoken about that crash, ever. We’ve never spoken about me joining Mercedes. We’ve never spoken about any of that."

On-track incidents are a regular part of Formula One, drivers have very often varying points of view on them, but, it is never personal. Russell explained the incident has no influence on the future interactions between drivers and it's just "part of the business."

"We often have normal chats with not a single ounce of awkwardness. It’s just part of the business, part of the job and it’s never personal."