Bottas had to outscore Mercedes F1 teammate Lewis Hamilton by eight points to keep the drivers’ title race alive, but ailed to his worst result of the season, finishing 14th.

Bottas spun at Turn 1 on the opening lap when trying to avoid Renault driver Esteban Ocon, and then made contact with Ocon at Turn 9 on the same lap, causing both drivers to spin again.

It left Bottas’s Mercedes W11 F1 car with damage that made it difficult to drive due to an issue with the alignment of his steering wheel.

The Finn spun a further four times during the race and was lapped by Hamilton, who went on to clinch the title with a dominant victory at Istanbul Park .

Asked by Motorsport.com how difficult it was to drive his car, Bottas explained the damage picked up had led to a “disaster race”.

“I had t

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