{"id":60518,"date":"2026-01-19T03:42:06","date_gmt":"2026-01-18T16:42:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/f1chronicle.com\/?p=60518"},"modified":"2026-01-19T03:42:06","modified_gmt":"2026-01-18T16:42:06","slug":"damon-hill-slams-bottas-grid-penalty-as-ridiculous","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/f1chronicle.com\/damon-hill-slams-bottas-grid-penalty-as-ridiculous\/","title":{"rendered":"Damon Hill Slams Bottas Grid Penalty as \u201cRidiculous\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_80 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-transparent ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Page Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/f1chronicle.com\/damon-hill-slams-bottas-grid-penalty-as-ridiculous\/#Why-Bottas-Is-Penalised-for-2026\" >Why Bottas Is Penalised for 2026<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/f1chronicle.com\/damon-hill-slams-bottas-grid-penalty-as-ridiculous\/#FIA-Rule-Change-Comes-Too-Late\" >FIA Rule Change Comes Too Late<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/f1chronicle.com\/damon-hill-slams-bottas-grid-penalty-as-ridiculous\/#Cadillac-Return-Begins-With-Setback\" >Cadillac Return Begins With Setback<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n<p>1996 Formula 1 world champion Damon Hill has criticised the regulations after Valtteri Bottas was confirmed to begin his Cadillac F1 career with a five-place grid penalty at the 2026 Australian Grand Prix.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hill described the situation as \u201cridiculous\u201d, pointing out that the incident which triggered the sanction occurred more than a year before Bottas even joined Cadillac.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why-Bottas-Is-Penalised-for-2026\"><\/span>Why Bottas Is Penalised for 2026<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The penalty stems from the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, when Bottas, then racing for Sauber, collided with Kevin Magnussen and was handed a five-place grid drop. Bottas did not race during the <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/f1chronicle.com\/q3-2025-formula-1-drivers-championship-predictions\/\" title=\"Q3 2025 Formula 1 Drivers\u2019 Championship Predictions\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"5513\">2025<\/a> season, meaning the punishment was never served and has now been carried over to the opening round of 2026 at Melbourne.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Reacting on Instagram Stories, Hill summed up his frustration succinctly, writing: \u201cHow ridiculous.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"FIA-Rule-Change-Comes-Too-Late\"><\/span>FIA Rule Change Comes Too Late<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Ahead of the 2026 season, the FIA introduced a change to the Sporting Regulations stating that penalties not served within 12 months will be erased. However, the rule is not retroactive, leaving Bottas caught out by timing rather than circumstance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An FIA spokesperson previously confirmed there is no provision under the <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/f1chronicle.com\/why-cant-f1-teams-use-old-cars\/\" title=\"Why Can&#8217;t F1 Teams Use Old Cars?\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"6699\">old<\/a> regulations to cancel Bottas\u2019s penalty, explaining that the update was designed to prevent similar scenarios in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Cadillac-Return-Begins-With-Setback\"><\/span>Cadillac Return Begins With Setback<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Bottas returns to full-time Formula 1 in 2026 with the new Cadillac F1 Team after spending 2025 as a Mercedes reserve driver. He will partner Sergio Perez, who has already completed Cadillac\u2019s first on-track running during a Silverstone shakedown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The grid penalty is an unwelcome complication for Bottas, particularly at a circuit where he has enjoyed major success. The Finn memorably dominated the 2019 Australian Grand Prix, securing a commanding victory at Albert Park, a stark contrast to the compromised start he now faces with Cadillac.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/f1chronicle.com\/come-il-viaggio-influisce-sulle-squadre-di-f1\/\">F1 news<\/a>&nbsp;to tech, history to opinions,&nbsp;<strong>F1 Chronicle has a free Substack<\/strong>. To deliver the stories you want straight to your inbox,&nbsp;<em><a href=\"https:\/\/f1chronicle.substack.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">click here<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For more F1 news and videos, follow us on&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-gb\/channel\/source\/F1%20Chronicle\/sr-cid-d092ae2f0f4afb32?disableErrorRedirect=true&amp;infiniteContentCount=0&amp;cvid=61ae8e6021fd4158b1b5ea7b729a2a47&amp;ei=9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Microsoft Start<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>New to Formula 1? Check out our&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/f1chronicle.com\/f1-glossary-comprehensive-guide-to-f1-terms\/\">Glossary of F1 Terms<\/a><\/strong>, and our&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/f1chronicle.com\/a-beginners-guide-to-formula-1\/\">Beginners Guide to Formula 1<\/a><\/strong>&nbsp;to fast-track your F1 knowledge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>1996 Formula 1 world champion Damon Hill has criticised the regulations after Valtteri Bottas was confirmed to begin his Cadillac F1 career with a five-place&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":35034,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"MSN_Categories":"Sports","MSN_Publish_Option":true,"MSN_Is_Local_News":false,"MSN_Is_AIAC_Included":"Empty","MSN_Location":"[]","MSN_Add_Feature_Img_On_Top_Of_Post":false,"MSN_Has_Custom_Author":false,"MSN_Custom_Author":"","MSN_Has_Custom_Canonical_Url":false,"MSN_Custom_Canonical_Url":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1395,66],"class_list":["post-60518","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-f1-news","tag-f1-news","tag-valtteri-bottas"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-02-11 20:19:59","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/f1chronicle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60518","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/f1chronicle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/f1chronicle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/f1chronicle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/f1chronicle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60518"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/f1chronicle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60518\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/f1chronicle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35034"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/f1chronicle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60518"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/f1chronicle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60518"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/f1chronicle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60518"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}