Valtteri Bottas’ exit started a chain reaction, which ultimately turned out well for Alfa Romeo.
Valtteri Bottas slipped on the sand at the US GP. That started a series of events. PDO
Valtteri Bottas’ exit served as a catalyst for the eventful US GP. F1 can be watched on Elisa Viihde Viaplay and v Sport channels.
Valtteri Bottas the employer Alfa Romeo is stuck with the hefty prize money. However, the amount threatens to decrease by millions, if the downturn of the last Games cannot be turned around for the better.
Bottas has been a valuable addition to the team this season, but a week ago at the US GP, the Finn made a mistake that could turn out to be expensive.
Or then not. The butterfly effect that started from a mistake might save the team millions in the end.
The points got away
Bottas started the season strong, but since then the pace has faded. Bottas, who scored 46 points in the first nine races, has now scored ten races.
Alfa Romeo’s performance has dipped as the season has progressed, but a week ago in Austin it looked good. Bottas, who received new upgrade parts for his car, drove seventh in qualifying, and the pace of the race seemed to break the scoreless streak.
However, Bottas wasted everything by driving out on lap 18. The exit was entirely in the driver’s own name.
Bottas had visited the pits a moment earlier, but after the others had stopped, Bottas would have risen to the top ten with his current driving pace.
Butterfly effect
This crash between Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso would hardly have happened if Bottas’ exit had not brought the safety car onto the track. PDO
The exit started a butterfly effect, from which Alfa Romeo’s threats benefited more or less.
The breather closest to the neck lost the most.
Of course, the course of the race would not have been the same if Bottas had not drifted into the sand. Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso they would hardly have rattled on the restart, because the safety car would not have collected the bunch.
Aston Martin’s day was darkened by the rattle of Stroll, who drove a great race. The team that struggled at the beginning of the season, but got into a great shape in the last races, was on its way to fifth and sixth place.
The crash with Alonso swept Stroll into the pole position. Later during the race, everything got even more crazy when Sebastian Vettel’s a completely peppered pit stop dropped the German far behind.
Vettel performed his best in the final laps of the race, but he finished in eighth place. In the last corners Haas Kevin Magnussen had to bend.
The jury’s confusion with Alonso’s punishment stirred up emotions in many camps. Of course, Alpine wanted the Spaniard’s six points, but Aston Martin, Haas and AlphaTauri also wanted to hold on to their extra points. All of Alfa Romeo’s opponents in the Manufacturers’ World Series.
The battle is intensifying
Aston Martin has crept up on Alfa Romeo. PDO
After the final results, the US GP condensed the battle for the sixth place in the manufacturer’s series into an unnecessarily tense one in Finnish terms.
The situation is as follows:
WC points
6. Alfa Romeo, 52
7. Aston Martin, 49
8. Haas, 36
9. AlphaTauri, 35
An interesting claim can be made about the butterfly effect caused by Bottas’ exit:
If Bottas had stayed on the track, Aston Martin would have scored more points.
With that, Aston Martin would have moved ahead of Alfa Romeo to sixth place in the manufacturers’ series. It’s not just about honor, but almost ten million euros.
If Stroll had kept his car intact, he would almost certainly have grabbed the three points required to overtake in the race. That would have been the number of them, even if the Canadian had finished eighth.
Aston Martin is not Alfa Romeo’s only threat.
With the help of the safety car, Magnussen took the points with his brave tactics. Two additional boys brought the balance of the American stable to 36. AlpaTauri is a point away. Also AlphaTaurin Yuki Tsunoda narrowed the gap by a point.
An expensive meltdown threatens
There are only three races left in the season. Alfa Romeo’s gap with Haas and AlphaTauri should be enough, but all it takes is one crazy race and two cars getting good points, and the situation is completely different.
Aston Martin’s Swiss camp may have to state too forcefully. But it would be a huge disaster if Haas or AlphaTauri, or in the worst case both, were to sweep past the chalk lines.
Then we would already be talking about tens of millions of dollars lost. It’s no small sum for Sauber, which runs Alfa Romeo’s F1 team.
Bottas has brought the team 46 points out of 52. The hope for the rest of the season is that both of those numbers will grow even more.