Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Lewis Hamilton won the Russian Grand Prix and closed in on his fifth Formula One title … but he’s not happy and neither was his Mercedes teammate, the ultimate gentleman, Valtteri Bottas
Victory was handed to Hamilton by Bottas, who pulled over to let him through on orders from the team.
“It’s never, ever in my whole life been the way that I wanted to win a race,” said Hamilton, who said the team overrode his objections to the switch. Passing Bottas ‘did not feel good’, he added.
Hamilton cruised to victory after the switch and now leads Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel by 50 points in the standings as both chase their fifth title. Even if Vettel wins all five remaining races, he’s no longer guaranteed to beat Hamilton.
Hamilton held off a challenge from Vettel at the start and overtook him after the German briefly got ahead at the pit stops, but by lap 25, he was again under serious pressure from Vettel.
Soon the call came through. “You need to let Lewis by into turn 13 this lap,” was the team’s message to Bottas, who could have taken his first win this year. Seconds later, the Finn eased over to the side of the track.
“I assured Valtteri it’s not something I asked for, but it’s what the team feels is right to do. It’s a very awkward position to be in,” Hamilton said. “There are not many teammates who would do something like that.
“Valtteri was an incredible gentleman. Honestly, it’s the strangest day I can remember having in the sport in my career. I remember, we have crossed this situation and discussion before. It’s always felt super uncomfortable, I was like ‘look, I want to win the right way’, that’s always how it is for me.
“I would say ‘look, as racing drivers we exist to win, and if you tell us we can’t win, it’s like you are taking our air away, our life away’. It’s that deep. I would never wish it upon anyone else and would never ask for it, ever.
“Obviously, the team took the decision when they saw that my tyres were blistered and Vettel was charging from behind. There are stronger heads in the team who are like: ‘we have to win, it’s all about the win. We have got to win both Championships, we don’t care who finishes ahead’.
“I think ultimately, it’s really important right this second to first acknowledge Valtteri, because as I said he was just the ultimate gentleman. It is very weird to feel down but we’ve also got to feel grateful to the guys back at the factory. So many people are working flat-out to make sure we have a 1-2 like this, the team have just done an incredible job this weekend. We have to really embrace the moment still, but it’s definitely a victory on my list of wins that I am least proud of. ”
It was Hamilton’s fifth win in six races and Mercedes’ third one-two finish this year.
Team orders, as such coordinated passes are known, have been used for decades and are allowed under F1 rules. But they have a history of alienating fans who would prefer to see competitive racing.
Mercedes strategist James Vowles defended the move by saying Hamilton had a ‘small blister’ on his tyre and could have fallen behind Vettel.
Vettel, who finished third, said he held no malice toward Hamilton and Bottas for their switch. “Well done to both of them. They played together as a team very well,” said Vettel. “I think in the position that they are, it’s a no-brainer what they did.”
Starting one place behind Hamilton in third, Vettel tried and failed to overtake him off the start and failed to take advantage when Hamilton missed a chance to get past Bottas into the second corner.
On a Russian track that makes overtaking tricky, the main drama came when Hamilton came out just behind Vettel after stopping on lap 14, sparking a brief but fierce battle between the two title rivals.
Vettel locked a wheel while lining up a move on Bottas, allowing Hamilton to close in before the start-finish straight, but when Hamilton tried to overtake, Vettel cut him off and forced him towards the wall.
Hamilton hung on to Vettel around the long left-hander of turn 3 and charged up the inside into the right-angle turn 4 to retake second. “It was a question of who was going to brake earlier at the next corner and I wanted it more,” Hamilton said.
The stewards investigated Vettel for blocking Hamilton but didn’t take action.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen started 19th on his 21st birthday but charged through the field to finish fifth, though he couldn’t challenge the Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen ahead of him.
It was another dramatic drive from Verstappen, who over four seasons has firmly established himself as F1′s most aggressive and exciting racer, but has never had a car capable of a true title challenge.
Behind Verstappen was the second Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo. Charles Leclerc, who’s replacing Raikkonen at Ferrari next year, was seventh after another strong drive for Sauber, ahead of Kevin Magnussen’s Haas.
The two Force Indias of Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez rounded out the top 10 after their own failed experiment with using team orders to climb up the field.
As for Bottas, he described it as a ‘tough day’. “We got a good result for us as a team with maximum points, but for me personally it was a difficult race. Although I already understand the situation. If you put yourself in the team leader’s shoes, for them it doesn’t matter if it is me or Lewis winning, as long as we are 1-2 we get the maximum points.
“For the end of the year, it’s only Lewis fighting for the Championship, I am not. So, for the team, it is always better that Lewis wins – that’s how it goes. It is not ideal for me as an athlete and a person, but that is a fact. We are playing as a team and I am prepared to play as a team.
“I took one for the team today, I will take one for the team tomorrow. That’s how it goes, but I’m also looking forward to next year, starting a new season. I know that today I was supposed to win and I could’ve won the race on equal terms. I know myself I am the winner of this weekend. I don’t have the trophy but it doesn’t matter. That’s how it is and I move on.”
The F1 bandwagon moves on to Japan for a race date on Sunday in Suzuka.
