Subscribe

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Motorsport prime

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Edition

Australia
Breaking news

Wolff doubts Bottas came close to retirement after team orders

Toto Wolff doubts Valtteri Bottas came close to retiring from Formula 1 following Mercedes’ use of team orders over two years ago after the Finn’s claim on Netflix.

Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes AMG F1, leads Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1

Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes AMG F1, leads Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1

Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images

Mercedes sparked controversy at the 2018 Russian Grand Prix when it asked Bottas to move aside for teammate Lewis Hamilton in a bid to protect its 1-2 finish.

Bottas was left visibility disappointed and unhappy by the call from Mercedes, and claimed during the most recent series of Drive to Survive on Netflix that the incident made him consider quitting F1.

"That was tough, tough to accept," Bottas said. "I was pretty angry. Honestly, I was thinking, why do I do this?

"I was even thinking of quitting, of giving up. Straight after the race, I said I would not do it again."

But Mercedes team principal Wolff said he did not think at the time that Bottas was close to retiring from F1 altogether in the wake of the incident.

"No, he was very downhearted, of course. I understand that - but I don't think he was close to retirement," Wolff said.

"Because he's too much of a competitor for that. But I can imagine, in the heat of the situation, after the race, you don't understand the world."

Read Also:

Mercedes has occasionally used team orders during Bottas and Hamilton's time as teammates, aiding its constructors' championship title victories over the past four seasons.

The team has always given its drivers equal treatment, and only made calls to stop them attacking each other or to swap positions when deemed absolutely necessary.

Reflecting on the call to swap the drivers in Sochi, Wolff said it was a "disastrous situation for all of us" as Mercedes tried to protect the team result amid pressure from Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel.

"I think it was necessary because it was all on the line with Sebastian," Wolff said. "Valtteri held up the train, with Lewis squeezed in between.

"The way I hated that, I can imagine how bad that must have been for him, much worse. Valtteri is not Nico [Rosberg], he also works quite differently. He certainly has the will inside him to get close to Lewis and beat him, but in his own way, which is different.

"It's all about your own performance, your own expectations, which is different from, for example, unloading every political weapon. But those were also Nico's strengths. You have to admit that."

Be part of Motorsport community

Join the conversation

Related video

Previous article The themes to watch in F1's Imola return
Next article What made Dan Gurney one of racing’s ultimate heroes

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Motorsport prime

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Edition

Australia