Bottas: Angry radio message in French GP didn't go too far
Mercedes Formula 1 driver Valtteri Bottas believes he didn't go too far with his angry team radio message during the French Grand Prix, in which he slammed the team's one-stop strategy.

Bottas was looking strong in the opening stages of the race at Paul Ricard, shadowing Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton in third.
Leader Verstappen came in for a second stop for medium tyres on lap 32, which proved the optimal strategy for the race.
Knowing it would lose the race by default if it were to follow Red Bull's strategy, Mercedes decided to leave both Hamilton and Bottas out until the end of the race on worn hard tyres.
For Hamilton, that gamble nearly worked as he managed to keep Verstappen at bay until the penultimate lap, when the Dutchman swooped past.
In Bottas' case however, the one-stopper left him vulnerable to both Verstappen and the second Red Bull of Sergio Perez, who overtook him to grab the final podium spot.
Realising his race was compromised by the one-stop strategy, Bottas reacted angrily on the Mercedes team radio, shouting: "Why the f*ck does no one listen to me when I say it's going to be a two-stopper?!" F***ing hell."
After the race, Bottas explained that his anger surfaced because the team didn't opt for a two stop strategy - which turned out to be the winning one - as he struggled to keep his tyres alive until the end.
"I think the winning strategy today was a two-stop. It is easy to say afterwards but that is how it is," Bottas told Sky Sports F1.
"As a team I think we were too focussed on completing the one stop thinking it was the best but it wasn't.
"I had no front tyres left for the last 10-15 laps so it was really just trying to get the car home. It was not fun the last stint."

Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes W12 and Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB16B battle
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
When asked by Autosport if his radio message went a bit too far, Bottas said he was just speaking his mind about what he thought was happening.
"I was making very clear what I was thinking," he added. "I was suggesting a two-stop earlier in the race but the team went one-stop and here we are."
Read Also:
Bottas said he was a "sitting duck" as both Verstappen and Perez easily passed him in the final stint.
"You feel like a sitting duck, it is quite simple," he explained.
"Of course, I tried everything I could. I tried to finish on the podium but the tyres were completely gone so [I had] no chance.
"I think we thought the tyres would last a lot better than they did, I think that was the biggest thing. We thought the hard tyre could do nearly the whole race but that was not the case."
When asked if his Mercedes team could have done more for him today, Bottas said his strategy prevented him from fighting for victory: "If I did a two-stop for sure we would have been on the podium and fighting for the win."
Related video

Mercedes had "no choice" but to pit Bottas first in French GP
Sainz: Ferrari’s F1 tyre degradation twice as bad as rivals in France

Latest news
Gasly: AlphaTauri has the “right tools” to recover F1 form
Pierre Gasly believes his AlphaTauri Formula 1 team has the “right tools” with which to solve its recent issues.
The consequences of Aston Martin’s radical F1 rear wing design
Formula 1’s 2022 technical regulations have been described as overly prescriptive as the rulemakers look to stifle specific developments in order that their overall goals are achieved – but here’s a plot twist.
Horner: "Timing is right" for Vettel's F1 retirement
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner believes that his former driver Sebastian Vettel has chosen the right time to retire from Formula 1.
Zhou focused on Alfa Romeo stay in F1 2023 silly season
Zhou Guanyu says his focus lies with retaining his Formula 1 seat at Alfa Romeo for 2023 ahead of talks about his future after the summer break.
Why few could blame Leclerc for following the example of Hamilton’s exit bombshell
OPINION: Ferrari's numerous strategy blunders, as well as some of his own mistakes, have cost Charles Leclerc dearly in the 2022 Formula 1 title battle in the first half of the season. Though he is locked into a deal with Ferrari, few could blame Leclerc if he ultimately wanted to look elsewhere - just as Lewis Hamilton did with McLaren 10 years prior
The other McLaren exile hoping to follow Perez's path to a top F1 seat
After being ditched by McLaren earlier in his F1 career Sergio Perez fought his way back into a seat with a leading team. BEN EDWARDS thinks the same could be happening to another member of the current grid
How studying Schumacher helped make Coulthard a McLaren F1 mainstay
Winner of 13 grands prix including Monaco and survivor of a life-changing plane crash, David Coulthard could be forgiven for having eased into a quiet retirement – but, as MARK GALLAGHER explains, in fact he’s busier than ever, running an award-winning media company and championing diversity in motor racing. Not bad for someone who, by his own admission, wasn’t quite the fastest driver of his generation…
Could F1 move to a future beyond carbonfibre?
Formula 1 has ambitious goals for improving its carbon footprint, but could this include banishing its favoured composite material? PAT SYMONDS considers the alternatives to carbonfibre and what use, if any, those materials have in a Formula 1 setting
How Russell has proven he deserves to be Hamilton's Mercedes heir
He’s fast, he’s smart, and he’s already shown he’s not going to let Max Verstappen intimidate him. George Russell won’t say it, but LUKE SMITH says he’s ready to take the lead at Mercedes when Lewis Hamilton moves on to a quieter life. And – whisper it – Mercedes and Lewis are starting to think so too
The traits that fuelled Alonso's unexpected Aston Martin move
Fernando Alonso’s bombshell switch to Aston Martin sent shockwaves through Formula 1, not least at Alpine that finds itself tangled in a contract standoff with Oscar Piastri. Not shy of a bold career move and with a CV punctuated by them, there were numerous hints that trouble was brewing
The elements Ferrari must resolve to first save face, then win championships
OPINION: Ferrari's Formula 1 title hopes look all but over after another strategic blunder in last week's Hungarian Grand Prix denied Charles Leclerc the chance to fight for victory, while handing it to chief rival Max Verstappen. The Scuderia now faces intense scrutiny over what it must now do to finally become a genuine factor in championship battles
The clues about Hamilton’s F1 retirement plans revealed after Vettel’s decision
OPINION: Sebastian Vettel is set to leave Formula 1 at the end of 2022 and will, rather shockingly, be replaced by Fernando Alonso at Aston Martin. But what about the final chapter of the other driver that defined the post-Michael Schumacher era? In Hungary, Lewis Hamilton spoke about his future in the context of Vettel’s upcoming departure, which offered clues on how long it will last