Alfa Romeo have been slapped with a reprimand ahead of this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix, after they didn’t tell Valtteri Bottas about his media commitments soon enough.
Bottas was summoned to the stewards after being late to his media duties on Thursday, something which typically results in a reprimand and occasionally a fine.
It was Thursday’s press conference in particular which he was late for, something which saw him sent to the stewards to explain himself.
“The driver and team representative are required to report to the Stewards at 10:45, in relation to the incident below,” a statement from the stewards read.
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“Alleged breach of Article 19.1 a) of the FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations – Late attendance of the Thursday Press Conference.”
However, it was revealed by respected F1 journalist Chris Medland that it wasn’t the Finn who was given a reprimand.
Medland shared on Twitter that it was the Hinwil-based team who received the reprimand because of letting Bottas know about his commitments late, although the driver did stay late to complete his duties.
“Team reprimand for this as Alfa had not told Bottas about his commitments early enough, and then stayed on longer to cover it all off,” Medland wrote on Twitter.
Bottas heads into this weekend at Zandvoort needing a big second half of the season, with his Alfa Romeo future being at stake despite having a deal until the end of 2024.
The ex-Mercedes driver has scored just five points across the 12 completed races in 2023, just one more than team-mate Zhou Guanyu.
Zhou, though, needs a deal for 2024, whilst Sauber academy driver Theo Pourchaire is believed to be an option.
Pourchaire is currently leading the Formula 2 Drivers’ Championship, whilst he’s also Alfa Romeo’s reserve driver.
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Because of this, he could be used by the Swiss side in their two mandatory young driver FP1 sessions.
Every team must use a young driver in two FP1 sessions, something most teams are yet to do.
Should Pouchaire win the F2 championship, then it could be difficult for Alfa Romeo not to offer him a seat, meaning either Bottas or Zhou will likely be given the boot.