Bottas' joke didn't go down well in China; Mercedes react
General
- GPblog.com
Valtteri Bottas had a very disappointing Turkish Grand Prix and after the race at Istanbul Park the Finnish driver made a joke about Wuhan, the town where the coronavirus originated. Mercedes faced criticism from China and that is why the German racing team have now apologised.
At Ziggo Sport, Bottas was asked whether Sunday in the Turkish capital was his worst day in 2020. "Today, yes. Or maybe the day someone bought a bat in Wuhan. Or this day."
In China, the joke of Bottas could not be laughed at and so Mercedes came up with a letter of apology. "Dear Chinese car fans. As we all know, sport makes us emotional, especially with the ups and downs that come with victories and losses. Last Sunday Valtteri had a difficult and disappointing race in which he lost the world title. It was not his intention to insult anyone in front of the TV cameras just after the race and he certainly did not want to show any disrespect to China and the Chinese fans".
Toto Wolff's team continues: "He is still the Valtteri we all know, he cares as much about every fan in China as we do, he wishes you all the best and wants you to stay safe in this difficult time and he is determined to bring exciting racing to your attention. We hope you have a good week and together we look forward to the last races of the season. Team China."