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Team orders 'the harsh reality' for Bottas - Wolff

Published on 30 Sep 2018 16:46
7
By: Harry Mattocks

Toto Wolff has said that using team orders against Valtteri Bottas in Russia is 'the harsh reality' that the team are facing, now that Bottas is firmly outside of the championship battle. The switch between the two teammates today lost Bottas the race win, after he qualified on pole position on Sunday.

it was done to prevent Sebastian Vettel from getting past the Hamilton after he developed a blister on his left rear tyre. In the closing stages of the race, Bottas was told that the team would not swap positions again before the end of the race, even though the threat from Vettel had all but disappeared. When speaking to Sky Sports F1 after the race, team principal Wolff admitted that he felt uneasy about making the call.

He said: "We are all racers at heart, and what we want to see is out and out racing and may the quickest man win - and then we are a bunch of rational guys, and we discuss things in the morning and then everything is different in the race. This is what happened today."

"We should be over the moon with a one-two, and fundamentally we are, but we also feel it went against Valtteri. It would have been a race win for him, and we changed it."

"It’s deflating for a driver and deflating for a team. But there is a harsh reality also that on a day you can extend a lead by seven points more for a championship that has been very tough and very difficult at times. Here you have to take it, and this is what we did today."

boudy

Posts: 1,168

Not really news anymore. He was brought into the team for exactly this issue. Number 2 driver that isn't allowed to win. Well done Mercedes you have no guts.

1
Sep 30 2018 - 17:05

F1 News Valtteri Bottas Lewis Hamilton Sebastian Vettel Mercedes

Replies (7)

boudy

Posts: 1,168
Not really news anymore. He was brought into the team for exactly this issue. Number 2 driver that isn't allowed to win. Well done Mercedes you have no guts.
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- Sep 30 2018 - 17:05
F1_IS_Dead

Posts: 123
Good boy! He shouldn't act, like he lost the win. He agreed to this treatment when he signed his number 2 contract. He is not a racing driver anymore, there is no need for him to pretend.
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- Sep 30 2018 - 17:15
blade

Posts: 341
Feels terrible doesn't it? Harsh reality though is that securing both titles is worth money to Mercedes so who are we to argue against their decision? I don't think LH was exactly pleased with decision either. I'm sure he will return the favour before the season is out.
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- Sep 30 2018 - 19:22
- ajpennypacker
  
  Posts: 2,475
  F1 fans are addicted to outrage. I remember last year whem he gave his position back to Bottas in Hungary he was criticized saying 'what if he loses the championship because of that. " the reality is that it would have been stupid for Mercedes not to use team orders when one driver is in the WDC fight and the other isn't. This is not like Ferrari in Austria 2002 when the championship was wide open and Schumacher already had several points of advantage. That's why people will forget about this, and will continue to talk about Austria 2002
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  Oct 1 2018 - 16:08
f1dave

Posts: 782
And they are talking about three car teams . . . what a crock.
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- Sep 30 2018 - 22:10
- mcbhargav
  
  Posts: 1,332
  that just triggered a nightmare for me with a team like Merc., using 2 cars as speed breakers.
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  Oct 1 2018 - 06:21
talktohenry

Posts: 362
And Toto pretending to be all sorry, he doesn't need to bother he has done his job, no big deal and stop making out your conflicted Toto. Merc not investing big money to take chances on the Championship. VB knows he's number 2, by his results alone, never mind what their contracts say...........
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- Oct 1 2018 - 11:00