Hamilton unaware of Mercedes' team orders to Bottas
Hamilton unaware of Mercedes' team orders to Bottas
Lewis Hamilton has revealed he had expected to battle with Valtteri Bottas during the closing stages of the Spanish Grand Prix and was not expecting Mercedes to interject with team orders.
After Hamilton made a second pit-stop in an ultimately successful attempt to pressurise Max Verstappen and Red Bull at the end of the race on fresher tyres, the British driver was demoted to third, behind team-mate Bottas.
The Finn was given a clear instruction not to hold up Hamilton but appeared to make life difficult for the seven-time champion, forcing him to lunge to the inside of the newly reprofiled turn 10.
Hamilton, however, has indicated he was unaware of any team orders.
"We are the best team-mates," said Hamilton. "Honestly, I didn't know he had a message so in my mind I was like, 'We are racing'.
"That is really fine for me, particularly early on in the season. In my mind, I was getting close and going for an overtake.
"We were on massively different strategies so I was going to get him at some stage because I had much fresher tyres and into turn 10, I thought there was a gap there but I wasn't sure, but Valtteri was completely fair.
"I hope I didn't lose him too much time. This is how we win as a team. We are sometimes in the position where we have got to put the team first. Getting a second and a third is good but getting a first is the most points and that is key."
Bottas suggested his tight pit window to Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who had compromised his race with an overtake on lap one, dictated how difficult he had made Hamilton's life.
"I got the message and obviously we were on a different strategy at that point so unless something crazy had happened we weren't really in the fight anymore with him," Bottas added.
"The thing was, at that time I was trying to get Charles out of my pit window and stop again to try and be ahead of him.
"I was really conscious that I don't want to lose too much time and wanted to focus on my race.
"As a racing driver you prioritise yourself and your race because that is what you do but also, we work as a team so you don't want to ruin the win for the team if that is possible if it is not possible for you.
"I tried to do the best thing I could do for the team and myself. It is always hard with those type of things. In the end, it was kind of ok."
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
Haas announce Hulkenberg EXIT as F1 star's new team confirmed
- 2 hours ago
F1 champion claims Drive to Survive success was 'very lucky'
- 9 minutes ago
F1 franchise welcomes return of INCREDIBLE feature
- 1 hour ago
F1 News Today: Red Bull star set to QUIT team as F1 driver role CONFIRMED for 2025
- 1 hour ago
F1 team set to axe BOTH star drivers
- 2 hours ago
Red Bull to lose F1 MVP as true cost of Horner saga hits
- Today 09:57
Related news
Incredible statistic puts Verstappen AHEAD of Hamilton record
Fierce rival calls Hamilton F1's GOAT in surprise admission
Mercedes star tipped to replace struggling driver THIS season
Hamilton sends strong message over Gaza deaths
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