Wolff Finally Admits Bottas Not To Blame

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff had recently implied that the pit stop mishap that ended Valtteri Bottas’ race in Monaco was partly due to Bottas’ inability to stop correctly in his marks. Bottas later defended himself stating that he had stopped well within the tolerance levels required for a good pit stop. Toto Wolff has had some time to reflect on this and has now spoken about it to Motorsport-Total while also delving into Bottas’ recent run of poor results and if it will affect his future at Mercedes

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0:00 - Has Wolff Changed His Mind About Blaming Bottas?
1:45 - Fast Feed

I'm your host Dillon Shelley and first up on Formula World:

Has Wolff Changed His Mind About Blaming Bottas?

Wolff began by stating that they haven’t made a decision yet about their 2022 driver line-up

“We are always honest with our drivers. They have the preference. It has always been like that and it will always be like that. We haven't made a decision yet”

He then revealed what impact Valtteri’s recent run will have on his future in the team

“Valtteri has had so much bad luck this year, you can hardly believe it. We will certainly take that into account in the decision”

He then looked at his post-Monaco suggestion that Bottas hadn’t stopped in the right place which forced the mechanic to use his wrench at an angle leading to a machined wheel nut

“It was probably my mistake. When I analysed the pit stop I said he went a few centimetres too far, without really identifying that as a mistake”

He then accepted that Bottas had in fact done a good job

“Valtteri actually turned out to be very precise with the pit stop. He made no mistake in that whole thing, it was our problem”

Many fans, including some here on Formula World had not taken kindly to Wolff blaming Bottas. Wolff signed off by responding to suggestions that there is a rift in the team

“That just means people want to create stories. We work as one within the team”
Fast Feed

Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel feels that experience alone isn’t enough for a good result

“You did see that with Lewis. He has done so many races, but a small error of judgement can have big consequences” Vettel added

Toto Wolff feels that “the whole story is fundamentally annoying” around flexible rear wings

As such, they “will not file a protest against Sergio Perez [after he won in Baku], but [they] trust the new test by the FIA”

FIA race director Michael Masi has reiterated that “from karting to Formula 1, when a red flag is shown the meaning is very clear. Brake and come to the pit lane immediately”

Therefore, “the penalty points on [McLaren driver Lando] Norris’ license was appropriate because it was a red flag violation” during qualifying in Baku

Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has confirmed that “there was a moment on the straight” between his drivers in Baku

“That has all been resolved. [They] have cleared the air. There were some misunderstandings, but it’s all right and [they’ll] put that behind [them]”

This was in reference to their driver Nikita Mazepin moving on the main straight in Baku to prevent Mick Schumacher from overtaking him on the last lap which almost put the latter into the wall at the fastest section of the circuit

Mick had later angrily inquired on the radio if Mazepin was looking to “kill” him

Nikita Mazepin, meanwhile, has stated that he was “a bit angry that [he] lost [his] position on the straight to [his] teammate”

“The battery was dead, so [he] was a bit of a passenger. It is what it is though”

Red Bull’s Sergio Perez feels that the tyre blowouts in Baku “need to be looked at, because it looked pretty bad”

“The speeds [they] were doing were tremendous”

Pirelli F1 boss Mario Isola has stated that a crash on the straights “doesn’t make it easier [to investigate]. If you have an accident the tyre gets damaged in many places”

He also suggested that “with Max [Verstappen] it could have been something that came from [Lance Stroll’s] car”

“With Lance [he] doesn’t know, because there had been no incidents before that moment”

F1’s managing director Ross Brawn has pointed out how “Max drove a very good race and deserved the win”

He also added that “with Lewis’ mistake at the end, it means the damage to his championship hopes wasn’t as great as it could have been”

He further suggested that if Red Bull “can keep this momentum going and continue to battle it out with Mercedes, we have quite a battle ahead of us”
Why do you think Mercedes have decided not to protest Red Bull's rear wing at Baku?

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