Valtteri Bottas expects more Mercedes team orders

By Daily Sports on October 5, 2018

Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas says he has been told he could be asked again to cede position to Lewis Hamilton until the drivers’ championship is decided.

The Finn was asked to move over for his team-mate to win last weekend’s Russian Grand Prix, which took Hamilton closer towards a fifth world title.

Bottas said Mercedes had made it clear they may ask him to do it again, adding: “And it’s what I expect.”

He said any decision would be made on a “case-by-case basis”.

Bottas added: “It depends on the situation. Last weekend, if Lewis did not have the blisters on his tyres, maybe I would have been allowed to win.”

Mercedes made the call to ask Bottas to let Hamilton by because the Briton had blistered tyres having attacked and overtaken title rival Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari.

Vettel had got ahead because Mercedes had erroneously delayed Hamilton’s pit stop by a lap, allowing the Ferrari to make up enough time to be ahead when Hamilton rejoined.

Mercedes wanted Bottas between Hamilton and Vettel, who was running close behind the Mercedes drivers, to make it easier to protect the Briton’s damaged tyres.

Hamilton’s victory gave him a 50-point advantage in the championship, with a maximum of 125 points still available over the remaining five races, starting in Japan this weekend.

Hamilton is conflicted on the subject of team orders, saying he could see both sides of the argument on a situation that has caused controversy.

“I’m split. On one side, I feel one way about it and on another, I feel differently,” he said.

“It’s a team sport. I remember watching it with Michael (Schumacher) and Rubens (Barrichello),” he added, a reference to the infamous 2002 Austrian Grand Prix, when Barrichello moved over to hand victory to his Ferrari team-mate on the run to the chequered flag, despite it being only the sixth race of the year and the German already having won four of the first five races.

Bottas said: “I know what I have to do and I am a team player. As a team, it was the best result we could hope for. I would do it again. It doesn’t mean I am not a racer.

“I just have to accept it because of what happened earlier in the season. I can’t fight any more for the world championship and we need to play as a team if we really want to win the title. That’s how it is.”

•Adapted from a BBCSports.com report. Photo shows Valtteri Bottas

Source Daily Sports

Posted October 5, 2018


 

You may also like...
Thiago Silva Grateful To Lampard For Chelsea Chance...

Rayon Sports ready for Enyimba

Abia Central Senatorial Zone Empowerment: Akobundu Sets The...

We’ll engage our youths to rule the world:...

John Fury furious over Hughie’s loss to Parker...

BREAKING NEWS: Nigeria move up in March 2016...

 

Latest News CAF awards: Ajibade, Nnadozie, Edo Queens bag nominations Lagos SWAN, PAACC Hold SWAN Day At Golfview Hotels, Ikeja Crisis looms as Eagles’ form raises AFCON, W’Cup concerns Ex-Nigerian Super Falcons player handcuffed, children assaulted as police storm Anambra Football Academy Sports NFF, teammates console Nwabali on father’s death Abia Govt hails Nigeria Olympic Committee over staging an admin course in Umuahia Libya deliver Eagles 2025 AFCON ticket Eagles battle Cheetahs for 2025 AFCON ticket Yellow Greens gear up for T20 W’Cup qualifiers Tyson tips Fury to beat Joshua Sadiq absent as 22 Eagles train in Abidjan Eagles’ striking trio hot for Cheetahs, Amavubi clashes

 

Most Read Rangers International going, going . . . (55,164 views) Amaju Pinnick: A cat with nine lives (46,307 views) Second Term: Amaju Pinnick, Other NFF Heavyweights Home to Roost •How Pinnick Broke the Jinx (44,370 views) Missing $150,000 IAAF Grant: Solomon Dalung’s Hide and Seek game (44,015 views) Sports Development: Zenith Bank on the zenith (43,948 views) Current issues in Nigerian sports: Matters arising (43,904 views) Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje’s solid footprints, commitment to sports development in Kano State (43,742 views) NFF Presidency: Pinnick, Maigari, Ogunjobi, Okoye in Battle for Supremacy (43,311 views) Olopade, BET9A wave of revolution in NNL (42,366 views) Commonwealth Games 2018: Shame of Muhammadu Buhari, Solomon Dalung (41,054 views) Ibrahimovic’s Man U exit: Whose decision is it? And in whose interest? (39,506 views) John Mikel Obi: Segun Odegbami’s Outrageous Call! (38,931 views)

 

Phone numbers

Tel: +234(0)8066020976
+234(0)8055068145
+234(0)7013416146
+234(0)8094272884

Email addresses

info@dailysportsng.com
support@dailysportsng.com
publisher@dailysportsng.com

Office address

No 3, Adetoun Close, Off College Road, Ogba, Ikeja Lagos.
Website: www.dailysportsng.com

Social Media