Breaking news
Formula 1 Hungarian GP
Bottas "hurt" by Wolff's "wingman" comments
Valtteri Bottas says that he is "hurt" by comments from Mercedes boss Toto Wolf that he was a "sensational wingman" in the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Jonathan Noble
Edited: Jul 29, 2018, 7:13 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
The Finn was forced to play a defending role in the second half of the Hungaroring race, with teammate and race leader Lewis Hamilton's main title rival Sebastian Vettel stuck behind him.
After holding off Vettel until just a few laps before the end to ensure Hamilton was clear in front for the win, Wolff told Sky that he admired the role Bottas played.
Wolff said: "It feels a bit bittersweet, I don't know why, because Valtteri would have deserved a podium because he was such a sensational wingman."
But Bottas seemed unimpressed by those comments, as he suggested that there was little to be happy about on an afternoon he wanted to finish much higher than his eventual fifth.
"First of all wingman hurts," he told TV reporters. "Second of all, I don't see any positives in this race for me. I wanted a better result.
"We thought in theory we should have been able to do that one stop. We had to stop earlier than we wanted because of Kimi [Raikkonen], we had to cover him, and still 20 laps before the end everything was feeling okay.
"We could control the pace and my position, but then the rear tyres started to die. I tried to defend the best I could, as aggressive as I could, but it ended up being a bit of a mess in the end with the broken front wing and everything."
Bottas suggested that he would speak to team management later to discuss the "wingman" issue, as he suggested there had been no indication he was playing a supporting role to Hamilton.
"I think we need to speak after this race," he said. "We are over halfway [through] the year and the points gap is big, but for sure the team will decide at some point."
Racing incidents
Bottas also believed that his clashes with Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo in the closing stages of the Hungarian GP were just racing incidents – even though he has been summoned to see the stewards for the Red Bull incident.
"With Seb he had a good run into Turn 2," he said. "We had a bit of a battle in Turn 1. I still had my nose inside into Turn 2, he was on the outside, he turned in very early for me and for me there was nowhere to go.
"We touched and I was the only one who got damaged. Fair enough, I think racing incident.
"With Daniel, it was a similar thing. I was more next to him on the inside. I had no front half of my wing so I was locking up as well.
"I am sure he saw that I was going quite quick into the corner but he still turned in, and then we touched."
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Hungarian GP: Hamilton wins as Bottas hits Vettel, Ricciardo
Next article Verstappen: "Slowest", fragile Renault engine "difficult to accept"
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Jonathan Noble
Brundle awarded OBE in King’s New Year’s honours
Formula 1
Formula 1
Brundle awarded OBE in King’s New Year’s honours
The new rules dilemma that will define the 2025 F1 season
Formula 1
Formula 1
The new rules dilemma that will define the 2025 F1 season
Verstappen issues Red Bull title warning in push for RB21 progress
Formula 1
Formula 1
Australian GP
Verstappen issues Red Bull title warning in push for RB21 progress
More from
Valtteri Bottas
Cadillac reveals date for F1 engine factory debut, thanks drivers for being “patient”
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
6 h
Cadillac reveals date for F1 engine factory debut, thanks drivers for being “patient”
Cadillac’s F1 brakes are still a problem: ‘I had to lift and coast on lap two’
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Cadillac’s F1 brakes are still a problem: ‘I had to lift and coast on lap two’
You Ask The Questions: Valtteri Bottas
Formula 1
Canadian GP
You Ask The Questions: Valtteri Bottas
More from
Mercedes
Kimi Antonelli ready to "finish the job" as first F1 title chance beckons at US GP
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
1 h
Kimi Antonelli ready to "finish the job" as first F1 title chance beckons at US GP
The figures that show Mercedes has lost its supremacy in F1 2026
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
The figures that show Mercedes has lost its supremacy in F1 2026
Latest news
Max Verstappen slams “unacceptable” bumps at Austin F1 track: “It's out of control”
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
50 min
Max Verstappen slams “unacceptable” bumps at Austin F1 track: “It's out of control”
Kimi Antonelli ready to "finish the job" as first F1 title chance beckons at US GP
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
1 h
Kimi Antonelli ready to "finish the job" as first F1 title chance beckons at US GP
How to watch NASCAR at Talladega II: Weekend schedule, start time, entry list, TV
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Talladega II
1 h
How to watch NASCAR at Talladega II: Weekend schedule, start time, entry list, TV
Peterson Racing addresses online abuse after parting ways with Austin Green
NASCAR O'Reilly
NOAP NASCAR O'Reilly
Talladega II
2 h
Peterson Racing addresses online abuse after parting ways with Austin Green
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe