An angry Valtteri Bottas said Mercedes’ strategists were ‘sleeping’ to both win Max Verstappen the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone, and to enjoy Lewis Hamilton’s strategy that earned him his team-mate with two laps of the race could let Go. But Team Prince Toto Wolff opposed the driver’s views, saying that Mercedes’ lack of pace on Red Bull on race day had left her powerless to do anything else.
Bottas was particularly angry after failing to convert pole position at Silverstone to victory for the second time in three years, with Verstappen’s superior pace allowing the Dutchman to follow the Finn right away after his first pit stop on Lap 26, before went to win the match.
Read more: ‘As a team we slept’ – Bottas points finger at Mercedes strategy as he slides from pole to third
To add insult to injury, Hamilton was then able to pass Bottas for second on Lap 50 of 52, with Wolff revealing that Mercedes had learned from investigating Bottas’ tires at his second stop on Lap 32 that Hamilton could be held longer. , to Lap 41, despite heavy blistering.
“The win was not there for us,” Wolff said after the race. “Obviously we were not the fastest car, and then you can not optimize the strategy. Did we get it right or wrong? Not clear. But absolutely if you have such a margin that Max had, then it was up to us to arrange ourselves for second and third and protect this position. “
70th Anniversary Grand Prix: Hamilton takes on Leclerc and Bottas
Asked about Bottas ‘sleepy remarks, Wolff replied:’ I just spoke to Valtteri. I do not think we sleep, but I accept his perspective. I think we just had a slower car today, and you just have to admit that. His point was, we should have done the opposite as Max [after both drivers pitted together on Lap 32]?
“But in fact, this would not have changed anything, because Max would come out with a fresh tire, and we would continue with a tire that was no longer in the best condition, and he just picked it up for us.
‘That I’m not sure what we could have done better. Of course, he is not in a happy place that he was P2 and Lewis P3 [before Hamilton got ahead], but it was learning that happened on track when we got the tire from Valtteri. We actually saw that there was a lot of rubber left and we expanded Lewis’ stint – even though there were big vibrations, but a lot of rubber.
“And so he got faster and faster, the more the rubber fell down, and that’s the reason we were able to extend the stint and eventually catch Lewis from Valtteri. It’s clear he’s not happy and I fully respect that. Not one. of us today is happy with the result. “
Read more: Hamilton was happy to take P2 after ‘hardcore’ blistering presented ‘unexpected challenge’
Wolff acknowledged that hot temperatures had played a large part in the first Mercedes defeat of 2020. And with more of those predictions for the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in a week’s time, the Austrian said his team would work hard to learn from Silverstone to adapt in Spain.
“I think in the past we had indications that our relative gap was not that big for our competitors when it was hot,” he said. ‘It comes down to the fact that we have a car with high downforce, and of course as circumstances change, and parameters change like temperatures go up, connections become softer, pressure up, we have to recognize that the Red Bull is a fairly fast car – and that’s what we’ve seen today.
Read more: Verstappen had an ‘incredible’ victory at Silverstone, saying ‘I did not see it coming!’
“But we had these days in the past and came out stronger and I’m really looking forward to Barcelona. We have a handful of days to evaluate, come up with solutions, test them on Friday in Barcelona and hopefully on Sunday a better race. These days where we lose are the days where we learn the most. “
Despite not winning for the first time this season, Mercedes still enjoyed a 67-point lead over Red Bull in the builders ‘standings, although Bottas slipped behind Verstappen to third in the drivers’ standings after Silverstone – which will not improve his mood, or …
