F1 has returned to the Netherlands for the 15th race of the season. It was the homeboy Max Verstappen of Red Bull who came out as the clear winner once again. However, the supremacy battle wasn’t easy as Red Bull and Mercedes both gambled for the victory.
The Zandvoort race looked to be tedious, with Verstappen crushing everyone on the track, until Lap 45. Yuki Tsunoda of AlphaTauri stopped on the track, saying the tires on his car weren’t fitted properly. The Japanese went back to pits on Lap 48 to counter the problem.
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Despite pitting, Tsunoda faced problems again and parked his car outside the track, thus bringing a virtual safety car. Verstappen and Hamilton saw the opportunity and pitted for medium tires. The drama didn’t end there as Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas pulled up just before turn 1 on Lap 55.
F1 fans react to back-to-back yellow flags with conspiracy theories
The pull-up by Bottas brought in another safety car where the Dutchman pitted again on lap 57 for soft tires. The series of safety cars and pit stops got the race on its heel again where Max Verstappen was right behind Lewis Hamilton, bringing in the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix memories.
Fans have shared that Valtteri Bottas of Alfa Romeo tried to help his former teammate Lewis Hamilton for old times’ sake.
"Tsunoda stopped to help Red Bull"
Moments later
"Bottas stopped to help Mercedes"
😂😂
— Tom Bellingham (@TommyWTF1) September 4, 2022
Bottas stopping to cause a safety car and help his former team Mercedes? pic.twitter.com/0MDHmP84BU
— Jack (@WorkTheSpace) September 4, 2022
bottas helping the mercedes 1-2 agenda pic.twitter.com/KvjCpS1SJR
— kit (@landocherry) September 4, 2022
Rumor has it Bottas still has ties with Mercedes 🤣
— Sameegh (@Sameeeghh) September 4, 2022
Moreover, the fans are also of the opinion that Yuki Tsunoda and AlphaTauri helped Red Bull and Max Verstappen against Mercedes, as it is the sister team of Red Bull.
Strategy accomplished huh pic.twitter.com/JlSSTbjMFp
— Ale⁹⁹ 🇮🇹 (@wolffsupremacy) September 4, 2022
it‘s literally so obvious what was happening here, theres no denying anymore at this point
— lena 🏁 (@formulena) September 4, 2022
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One of them is the sister team of red bull, and one is an independent team
— Dewi (@dewibj123) September 4, 2022
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The action by Yuki Tsunoda got him summoned by the stewards after the race. Any further actions on the incidents are yet to be announced.
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