Bottas says glitch may have triggered Baku exit
NXTbets Pro | Published On: September 28, 2026
Bottas crash and glitch
Bottas wants Cadillac to check for a computer glitch after his Azerbaijan Grand Prix crash, and he pointed to a chain of problems that started early and ended with his exit at Turn 15 in Baku. He said an earlier Turn 1 lock-up and run-off may have confused the car’s systems. By Turn 15, he said he had only the front brakes left after losing rear braking and rear energy harvesting. He was running last and was set to finish the race before the crash. Two laps remained when he crashed at Turn 15, ending his run in the final stages. After the impact, he stayed at the scene and looked over the rear of the car because he thought a rear-brake failure might have caused the problem. Cadillac was left with a breakdown to study after the crash.
FIA stewards clear Bottas
The FIA stewards looked into Bottas after he stayed near his stricken car, then decided against any further action. Officials reviewed the scene and accepted his explanation for why he remained in the area after the crash. They said the situation did not pose a significant danger, which cleared him after the investigation. Bottas also said he should move to safety more quickly in similar incidents, a sign that he saw the moment as a reminder as much as a missed warning. The review kept the focus on his reaction after the crash, not on a penalty, and it closed the issue without changing the race order. Bottas had thought the rear of the Cadillac might have failed, so he stayed close long enough to check the damage before stepping away. That detail mattered to the stewards, who accepted that he was reacting to what he believed he had felt in the car. Their ruling left the crash itself as the main issue, and it spared Bottas from any added sanction after a difficult finish in Baku.
Russell wins under green
The FIA kept the race under double yellow flags at Turn 15 and did not deploy a safety car or virtual safety car, saying the incident was slow, isolated and manageable. Green flags stayed in effect after Bottas left his Cadillac stranded, and that allowed George Russell and Max Verstappen to race to the finish. The decision preserved a live run to the line rather than bunching the field again, and Russell took advantage by holding on at the end. He won by 0.196 seconds. That margin gave the Azerbaijan Grand Prix a tense finish and underlined how quickly the race could turn once Bottas hit trouble in the closing laps. The response from race control also showed how officials viewed the crash, since they treated it as a local incident instead of a full-course danger. The final sprint ended with Russell ahead by less than two-tenths of a second.
