Toto Wolff fears long-term pain after Valtteri Bottas' Mercedes "write-off"

Toto Wolff in the rain — Photo: © LAT Images

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Wolff fears long-term pain after Bottas' Mercedes "write-off"

The cost-cap provides extra pain for Mercedes

Sam Hall

Monday 19 April 2021 05:00

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has revealed the incident between Valtteri Bottas and Williams' George Russell could hinder the team's 2022 development plans.

With Formula 1 operating under a budget cap for the first time, and with major new regulations set to be introduced next year, teams are calculating how best to divide their finances.

Due to the restrictions, damage through crashes such as those between Bottas and Russell on lap 32 of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix have left Wolff counting the cost.

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"Our car is a write-off," said Wolff. "In a cost cap environment that is certainly not what we needed and is probably going to limit upgrades for what we are able to do."

Asked by GPFans Global if the cost could affect the development of Mercedes' 2022 car, Wolff answered: “Absolutely. We are very stretched on the cost cap and what we always feared is a total write-off of a car.

"This one is not going to be a total write-off but almost and it is not something we really wanted.”

Wolff was further irked by Russell's involvement in an incident that saw Lewis Hamilton slide through the gravel and into a wall when trying to lap the 23-year-old, requiring a front-wing change.

That dropped Hamilton from second, as he chased down Red Bull's Max Verstappen, to ninth at the restart after a red-flag period to clear the cars of Bottas and Russell.

Although Hamilton recovered to claim second by the chequered flag, Wolff added: "This first incident happened where Lewis slid off the track with George trying to help but the contrary was actually the case, and then the Valtteri incident.

“At that stage, we had two cars out and no points at all. In that respect, to end up with P2, the fastest lap and a recovery drive...a recovery drive is unsatisfying but I just can’t overlook that we lost a car and Valtteri didn’t score any points.”