Mercedes 'keen' to seen Hamilton/Bottas battles

  • Published on 15 Oct 2019 17:48
  • comments 0
  • By: Dieter Rencken & Fergal Walsh

Mercedes is "keen" to see some on track battles between Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas now that there is no threat in the title race from any other team.

The Silver Arrows wrapped up the constructors' championship on Sunday at Suzuka, while all non-Mercedes drivers were eliminated from contention in the fight for the drivers' title.

Lewis Hamilton currently holds a 64 points lead over Valtteri Bottas in the standings and is on course for a sixth world championship with just four races left to run.

MOREBottas 'proud' to be part of Mercedes history | Wolff: Second pit stop for Hamilton a 50/50 call

Team boss Toto Wolff says Mercedes must "stay true to the values" that it has shown in the past and leave the game as fair as possible for both drivers in the coming races.

"I think we got to stay true to the values that we have defined in the past and play the most fair game and you can see how difficult it is sometimes like today but we are certainly keen in seeing them racing," Wolff said.

"Valtteri is very much an outsider with the points. 64 points, that is two and a half wins so we will give them equal opportunity and then it is for them to race it out on track."

Mercedes championship success this year marks the sixth consecutive year that it has taken both titles - an achievement that has never before been seen in Formula 1.

"Each of the championships felt very special for various, different reasons," Wolff said. "This one again is so special because it is not always easy to invent yourself at the beginning of the year, set objectives that motivate everybody and then embark on the long season.

"Niki is being missed. Therefore the sixth one beating a record that was set by Ferrari 15 years ago is really special but I  am not able to get it yet.

"We had a difficult qualifying this morning and we are somehow eager to do well that this non-performance sits in our bones. Probably it is going to sink in over night flying back to Europe."

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