Bottas "trusts" Mercedes over engine upgrade refusal

The works cars have been equipped with a 2016-spec engine since Monza and Mercedes' customers have since expressed their desire to get their hands on the upgraded power units.

However, it is Mercedes' company policy to treat all its customers equally and give them sufficient upgraded parts at the same time, and the management has decided that it is not possible to provide the Monza engine to Williams, Force India and Lotus within the time frame of the last few races.

"We are still happy that we have a Mercedes engine," said Bottas today. "Even though it's not a new step, it's a very good engine, and it is competitive, and we can get good results with it.

"I'm sure there is some kind of thinking behind it, why the customer teams are not getting those, because for sure if Mercedes would think that's best for us, of course we would be better [at] challenging Ferrari, and that would help them.

"I do trust that they are thinking what is best for us as well, so I'm not disappointed because of that"

"It's not frustrating because I really think that they would give us the best possible engine to try and beat Ferrari," Bottas added when pressed on the issue.

"There must be some reason behind it. I don't know whether it's reliability or what. But I trust them.

"Life is not always fair, and nor is F1. Like I told you before, I still think we have the best possible engine for us to try and get maximum points for the rest of the year."