- Australian GP - Qualifying
Bottas a doubt for race due to back pain
Valtteri Bottas is a doubt for the Australian Grand Prix after suffering back pain during qualifying and being taken to hospital for further checks on Saturday evening.
Bottas felt pain in his back while braking during the second session of qualifying and it is not yet clear how serious the issue is. The team will make a call on his fitness ahead of the race on Sunday, but the injury could see him and the No.77 Williams miss the race.
"He felt some pain under braking at the end of his second attempt in qualifying two," head of vehicle performance Rob Smedley said. "Then it kind of escalated from there through the third qualifying. At the minute he has been down to the medical centre, and he has been checked out. He has gone to the hospital for further checks.
"That's all we know at the moment. The update will be tomorrow, he's going back to his hotel and he's going to rest. He's not being kept in overnight. He'll come back in and he'll be checked over tomorrow."
Asked if Bottas will be able to race, Smedley said: "It's not for me to say to be honest. That's for the medical people to say. What we have to do, he has to go through the correct checks this evening and tomorrow, and time will tell. He has to get through the initial bit, have all the correct medical care and treatment, have the assessment tomorrow, and then we'll know from that point on.
"I'm sure now we'll need to go and have a look at all angles but the main thing is now we need to find out what is going to happen for tomorrow."
Smedley said Bottas had done a fantastic job just to make it through qualifying.
"I think he was in a great deal of pain, and he managed to be three tenths off that little group in front - the two Ferraris and Felipe - so he has done a really good job."
In the Williams press release, Bottas added: "It was great to finally start the season and to have a very tight qualifying session. The car performed well and we were fighting with Ferrari throughout. Unfortunately towards the end of Q2 I started to feel a pain in my back. Under the circumstances I'm happy with sixth place, but as Felipe proved, this is not a true indication of our pace. Given the back complaint I had during the session, the team and I felt it sensible to get me checked out at the local hospital and we await their diagnosis."
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