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Niki Lauda: Sebastian Vettel deserves harsher penalty for Valtteri Bottas incident

Niki Lauda reckons Sebastian Vettel should have received a bigger penalty for colliding with Valtteri Bottas on the opening lap of the French Grand Prix.

Vettel and Bottas collided on the run down to Turn 1 after the German locked up his front left tyre, hitting the side of Bottas' Mercedes. Both cars sustained damaged and were forced to pit for repairs.

The stewards awarded Vettel a five-second penalty, but the penalty had little impact on the race after the Ferrari driver managed to build up a substantial gap over Bottas -- who had been nursing floor damage, and the rest of the field.