Bottas concedes penalties could factor in title fight

Involved in F1’s title fight for the first time in his career, Valtteri Bottas concedes engine and gearbox penalties could play a role in the outcome.

Already this season Bottas and his team-mate Lewis Hamilton have had to five-place gearbox penalties after their units were replaced during the six-race cycle.

And with power unit elements reduced to four for the season, both drivers are knocking on the door having reached three ICE, MGU-H, MGU-K and turbocharges.

With the top three in the championship separated by 33 points, Bottas says any forthcoming penalties could have a negative impact on the drivers’ campaigns.

“These are the rules and we all have to complete the season with a certain number of mechanical parts,” he told Crash.net.

“If a team gets too greedy, you’ll need to change some parts more often and you pay a penalty.

“It’s true the penalty affects the driver as much as the team, but both lose quite a few points, potentially.

“I never really thought of that, for me it is what it is, but that’s a good point as it’s definitively penalising the drivers and this year it can really affect the championship fight.

“But those are the rules now and everyone is driving within the same rules, so it’s OK.”