George Russell and Valtteri Bottas should have shown more respect for what happened at Tamburello in 1994 following their high-speed collision during Sunday’s 2021 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Sky F1 pitlane reporter Ted Kravitz said after watching a replay of Russell confronting Bottas following their collision.
F1 legend Ayrton Senna passed away after crashing at that part of the circuit in 1994 – and Kravitz was less than pleased with the way Russell and Bottas behaved after they crashed.
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Russell approached Bottas in the immediate aftermath of the shunt and exchanged words with him, before the Finn raised his middle finger and the young Brit slapped his helmet.
Reacting to the incident, Kravitz said: “A little unseemly that, isn’t it? They should remember what happened there in 1994, those two, shouldn’t they?
“Could have been an awful lot worse, could have been a lot worse. The halo did its job though, didn’t it?” he added.
On Monday evening, after watching replays of the crash from different angles, Russell apologised to Bottas via a social media post.
“Yesterday wasn’t my proudest day,” Russell wrote in a social media post.
“I knew it would be one of our best opportunities to score points this season and, when those points matter as much as they do to us right now, sometimes you take risks.
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“It didn’t pay off and I have to take responsibility for that. Having had time to reflect on what happened afterwards, I know I should have handled the whole situation better.
“Emotions can run high in the heat of the moment and yesterday mine got the better of me. I apologise to Valtteri, to my team and to anyone who felt let down by my actions.
“That’s not who I am and I expect more from myself, as I know others expect more from me.
“I’ve learned some tough lessons this weekend and will come out of this a better driver and a better person for the experience.
“Now it’s full focus on Portugal and a chance to show what I’m really about. Thanks for all the messages, both positive and negative. They will all help me to grow,” he concluded.
The stewards put the incident down as a racing incident, with neither Bottas nor Russell receiving a penalty for the collision.
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