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Formula 1 Austrian GP
No point in backing up Vettel, say Mercedes drivers
Mercedes drivers Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton say it would not make sense for the Finn to try to slow Sebastian Vettel down during the Austrian Grand Prix.
Pablo Elizalde
Edited: May 5, 2021, 4:20 PM
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Bottas qualified on pole position at the Red Bull Ring as Hamilton, who has a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change, finished behind championship rival Vettel in third.
The Briton, trailing Vettel by 14 points, will thus start the race from eighth place, six positions behind the Ferrari driver.
Despite that, Hamilton insisted there was no point in Bottas trying to help him tomorrow by deliberately backing off Vettel on race day.
"It makes no sense for Valtteri to slow down, so he will push as hard as he can to win the race," he said.
Bottas echoed his teammate's feelings, saying trying to back Vettel up could prove costly.
"From what I have seen in the pre-race strategy notes, that kind of plan is not on those notes," said Bottas.
"We need to focus on trying to have a good start to the race and we need to win the race.
"Lewis can fight back from where he is starting. If you start playing games it gets tricky, if the car behind gets DRS and the slipstream, then with just one mistake they can get the win."
Hamilton, who finished second from ninth on the grid in 2014, admitted he is not thinking of victory tomorrow given Bottas' pace and his starting position.
"Valtteri has been quickest all weekend, so it's not really in my mind at the moment," he added.
"I am pretty sure back then [2014] there was a bigger difference of speed delta with the other cars.
"It is more unlikely than it was then, but I will give it everything I can and of course I will be happy if I get up there."
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