Valtteri Bottas was taken for precautionary medical checks after a crash brought Formula 1’s Mexican Grand Prix to a halt on lap 45 of 71.
The left-front suspension on Bottas’s Cadillac failed as he approached Turn 1, sending the car spinning backwards into the barriers. The race was red-flagged while repairs were carried out, with medical personnel spending an extended period speaking to Bottas in the cockpit before he eventually got out and walked away unaided.
Cadillac said Bottas was “responsive” on team radio and was being taken to the medical centre for “further medical assessments as a precaution”. When asked over the radio whether he was okay as the crash happened, Bottas replied: “No. F**k!”
The race was set to resume with Max Verstappen leading Charles Leclerc. Verstappen had moved ahead after benefiting from a disputed first-lap incident involving Leclerc and his Ferrari team-mate, polesitter Lewis Hamilton. Leclerc was penalised for the incident, costing him the early lead.
Hamilton had initially dropped to third behind Kimi Antonelli after pitting when the safety car was deployed for Bottas’s crash. However, because the restart order was taken from the lap before the stoppage, Hamilton retained third place.
Sources: The Race.