“He’d make a good doorman.” Did Valtteri Bottas Help Max Verstappen Secure a Win at the 2021 Mexican Grand Prix?


“He’d make a good doorman.” Did Valtteri Bottas Help Max Verstappen Secure a Win at the 2021 Mexican Grand Prix?

Valtteri-Bottas-and-Max-Verstappen

The 2021 Mexican Grand Prix saw a dominant win by Max Verstappen, who stands 19 points ahead of Lewis Hamilton as the Formula 1 season comes to an end. As Sergio Perez took third place at his home GP, Red Bull are now only 1 point behind Mercedes in the Constructors standings. Valtteri Bottas could not contribute to the points this weekend, as had quite the unfortunate hit coming into turn 1 ruined his chances of scoring a podium.

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The disappointment was apparent, especially as Bottas did not help to stop Verstappen from taking the lead in the first few seconds. Bottas was more focused on his teammate than the Red Bulls, which is why Verstappen managed to nick past the front row cars so quickly. Although Verstappen was likely to win the race regardless of the incident, the Finn was criticised for “leaving the door open” for him.

Valtteri Bottas Criticised for Disaster at 2021 Mexican Grand Prix

Valtteri Bottas
Valtteri Bottas

Marc Priestly criticised Valtteri Bottas for the blunder at the first turn, and leaving the door open for Max Verstappen. According to GPBlog, Priestly said “I saw someone say, ‘He should be a doorman, because he left the door wide open’. Bottas made the wrong decision in that braking zone.” 

Priestly went on to say that Bottas steering towards Hamilton in the braking zone was a natural reaction since the latter was on the inside. Priestly says that since Bottas moves toward the inside line, he left the racing line right open for Verstappen. If Bottas had made a non obvious choice and gone wide, Verstappen may not have taken the lead in the race. Priestly continued to say,  “I miss the ‘killer instinct’ with Bottas.”

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Also read: Red Bull hits back and makes fun of Mercedes on social media