Bottas really made his own luck somewhat, but I still think he is being judged too harshly. He's been right on it at Imola in free practice. In QF, he was compromised somewhat by having to do a second run on mediums in Q2 while Hamilton (and Verstappen) could prepare optimally for Q3 with a test-run on the softs.
In the crash with Russel, the issue was largely down to the layout of the track and the dry line. I wouldn't expect Bottas having to concede that line any more than he already did - and at those speeds and with a corner, you don't want to make sharp turns while two wheels are potentially outside that dry line. That could have been easily him losing his car in making room for Russel as it was for Russel reacting slightly more to necessary and getting on the wet patch himself. Overall, a very unfortunate racing incident with neither really to blame, just as unfortunate as Hamilton being held up by cars to be lapped and having to leave that dry line himself on slick tires into a braking zone. During those laps, any car leaving that dry line, especially in corners and braking zone was a big risk for everyone and I for one am surprised there weren't more collisions.
Also in regards to Bottas pace during the race - one shouldn't forget that Bottas had less of a chance at passing cars prior to his crash because DRS was mostly disabled and again, there was that big risk of what might happen when leaving the ideal line. I'm fairly confident there were less overtakes in the first half of the race vs the second half when the track was mostly dried out.
Last point - and the real reason why I am posting this here and not the race thread; Anyone else find Russel not being that likeable? I didn't really appreciate him going to Bottas for a fight after such a heavy high speed collision. I also started watching Drive to Survive recently (up to season 3 / episode 4 or something) and there was this episode, I think in season 2 (episode 9 I think) where he doesn't come across that well, when criticizing his own team and car. No matter how skilled Russel may be, he is still a rookie and is one of only 20 drivers to be fortunate enough to drive F1. The mentality of "I deserve more than to be driving at the back of the grid" IMO is misplaced and I would prefer to have a driver who stands behind his team and tries to help them improve, rather than acting like the spoiled talent who should be in a Mercedes seat.
Just my 2 cents.
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