Bottas ignored Wolff's orders in Australia
Bottas ignored Wolff's orders in Australia
Toto Wolff confirmed that Valtteri Bottas and his race engineer Riccardo Musconi directly disobeyed his instructions not to chase the bonus point for the fastest lap at the Australian Grand Prix. Bottas added the fastest lap to his race victory to leave Melbourne with a maximum 26 points.
Bonus points for the fastest lap of each race will be given out in F1 for the first time in 60 years this season, with Bottas the first to benefit after a late-race 'battle' with Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The Dutchman took the fastest lap with four laps to go, but Bottas managed to blast in a 1:25.580 on the penultimate tour of Albert Park.
???? VB’s fourth @F1 win!
— Mercedes-AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) March 17, 2019
???? 26 points for the Finn!
???? 44 points for the Team!
???? 45th 1-2 for @MercedesBenz!
What. A. Day. See ya next time, #AusGP! ???? pic.twitter.com/zdlg0wqld0
Bottas asked over team radio whether he would be pitting late on in an attempt to secure the extra point and replied "I want 26 points" when told Mercedes would take the risk-averse route.
"Today in the morning meeting when we talked about strategy, I forbade them to go for the fastest lap if we were running first, second or third," said Wolff. "They ignored me. All of them!
"At the end I'm very happy. Collecting that extra point I think is good. It's entertaining. It's a great new part of the spectacle.
"I believe that it's taking risks. Especially when you're aiming for the big points, should you go for the fastest lap?
"But then maybe my reference point in keeping control of a car is my own driving and not the level of the Formula 1 drivers? I didn't like it so much."
Bottas confirmed that Mercedes' intentions were to be more "conservative" in the season opener, but he was delighted nevertheless to secure a maximum haul.
"Obviously getting the big amount of points from the result itself is a much, much bigger priority," he said.
Bottas gives reason for 'f*** you' messageRead more
Wolff: Some people had written Bottas offRead more
"And the second priority, the fastest lap. Once the gap to behind was decent there was enough margin to speak about that, and make a plan for that.
"I just decided in the last few laps, even though I was in traffic, trying to find a bit of a gap.
"I was pulling back, with some cars behind, went to some other engine modes, and went for a quick lap. I'm glad I got it, so it's obviously one point more."
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
Haas announce Hulkenberg EXIT as F1 star's new team confirmed
- 1 hour ago
F1 News Today: Red Bull star set to QUIT team as F1 driver role CONFIRMED for 2025
- 2 minutes ago
F1 team set to axe BOTH star drivers
- 35 minutes ago
Red Bull to lose F1 MVP as true cost of Horner saga hits
- 2 hours ago
F1 pundit reveals the thing about Wolff that ANNOYS Horner
- 3 hours ago
Newey exit DATE revealed as Red Bull F1 chief set to leave
- Today 08:27
Related news
F1 winner stars in HILARIOUS viral clip as rivals hail 'legend'
F1 star admits Red Bull concern which affects the 'whole wide world'
F1 winner shares HIGH praise for key figure in team's turnaround
F1 star in 'best version' claim ahead of 2024 season
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860