Bottas will still have to serve the penalty.
At his most recent Grand Prix to date — last year in Abu Dhabi — Valtteri Bottas received a five-place grid penalty for the next race for a collision with Kevin Magnussen. Previously such a penalty had no expiration, and in the new 2026 sporting code it is limited to 12 months, but in Bottas’s case it will remain in force until it is served.
If Valtteri Bottas takes the start next season with Cadillac, he will still have to serve the penalty imposed 15 months ago.
An FIA representative told RacingNews365: "At present the penalty remains in force, as we have no mechanism to retrospectively change a penalty imposed under the rules that were in place at the time. The rule change is intended to prevent similar situations in the future."
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Bottas will still have to serve the penalty.
Previously the penalty had no statute of limitations, but in the new 2026 Sports Code it is limited to 12 months...