It seems like it could not get any worse for Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas this month – he had an engine failure at the Brazilian Grand Prix followed by a penalization for using too many engine parts that will relegate him to the back of the grid for this weekend’s Formula One season-ending 2019 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and then, this week, he announced he was getting a divorce from his wife.
It looked like things were turning around for Bottas in the first and second free practice sessions for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, until – cue dramatic music – he collided with Haas’ Romain Grosjean in the second session, creating extensive damage for Bottas’ car.
Despite the crash, Bottas was 0.310 seconds faster than his Mercedes teammate and current six-time F1 world champion, Lewis Hamilton, but he will still be starting from the back of the grid after Mercedes uses even more parts to fix his damaged car.