Bottas says Imola tax comments were taken out of context
Bottas says his Imola remarks were framed as unfavourably as possible. His complaint is not paying tax, but a large bill reaching back years without any warning.
Valtteri Bottas has moved to clarify his comments about the tax implications of a possible Imola finale.
The Cadillac driver had said earlier that "none of the drivers want to race in Imola" partly because of recent Italian tax demands.
Max Verstappen hit back: "There is no tax issue. You just have to pay tax."
Bottas says his comments were made to sound far worse than intended.
"This is one of those classic examples of a situation where I explained what happened, and they took only the most convenient parts to make it look as unfavourable as possible for me," said the Finn and former Mercedes driver.
"Frankly, we have no problem paying taxes, as long as we're aware of our obligations."
He said the frustration comes from Italian authorities looking back seven or eight years.
"We were always told that we didn't need to file any declarations in Italy, otherwise we would have done so," Bottas insisted.
"This situation has arisen, and obviously, a significant amount is involved. It would have been good to know about it beforehand."
Young Haas driver Oliver Bearman was also asked about the issue and joked: "The tax complication is a bit less relevant to me than some of the others."
Related: Bottas says drivers dislike Imola finale in December
