F1: Mercedes didn't tell Bottas not to beat Hamilton's lap time

After Lewis Hamilton overhauled Valtteri Bottas with his final run in qualifying, Mercedes got the best possible result available to them on the grid for the Turkish Grand Prix.

Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free

The W12s led the way in practice and a one-two looked on the cards from the outset. But with Hamilton doomed to take a 10-place grid penalty because of his engine change, the order in which the pair ended up took on more significance than usual.

If Bottas took pole ahead of Hamilton, the world championship leader would fall to 12th on the grid. If Hamilton was fastest, he’d start a place higher in 11th. Either way, Bottas would start from pole, so having Hamilton ahead was clearly in Mercedes’ best interests.

However Bottas led the pair after their first runs in Q3. That changed when Hamilton began his final run before his team mate and moved ahead. When Max Verstappen completed his final lap in Q3 and failed to dislodge the pair from the front row, the biggest threat to Mercedes was gone.

Did Mercedes therefore to tell Bottas to back out of his final flying effort, to ensure the best possible starting positions for both drivers? The opportunity was there: Bottas reached the finishing line 18 seconds after Verstappen.

But afterwards Bottas made it clear there had been no such instruction from his team. “I wasn’t asked to slow down and I was definitely going for it,” he confirmed.

Hamilton’s speed through the final sector of the lap, which includes two of the slowest corners, proved decisive.

Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes, Istanbul Park, 2021 — Bottas ran out of grip in the final sector

“I started to struggle a bit with the front end in the last sector,” Bottas explained. “I just had some understeer in turn 12 and 14, so I could feel I was losing a bit of time. Probably used the tyres a bit more, earlier in the lap. So I was fully going for it, for sure.”

Telling Bottas to back off could also have put him in jeopardy from the only driver running behind him who could potentially beat his time – apart from his team mate – Charles Leclerc. However the Ferrari driver ended up almost three-tenths of a second behind Bottas.

Verstappen fell short of beating Bottas by less than two-tenths of a second. He told his team on the radio his battery hadn’t delivered all the expected power at the end of his lap. Later, Verstappen confirmed this has been due to how he used the battery earlier in the lap, and not a technical problem on his car.

While Verstappen said the lost time wouldn’t have been enough for him to take pole position, it underlined how big a threat Red Bull were to Mercedes. The world championship therefore couldn’t take any chances when it came to their drivers’ lap times.

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

Bottas radio from his final run

Musconi	We’ve got three cars about to start a lap in sector three. Lewis at the last corner.
Musconi	Lewis is finishing his lap, correction.
Musconi	We’ve got Leclerc now on the start/finish line starting a lap. Behind him, Tsunoda.
Musconi	So Alonso’s got a seven second gap ahead to Norris. Expect a tiny bit of bunching.
Musconi	And Stroll behind on an out-lap. Leclerc has aborted. Only car on a lap is Tsunoda, 20.
Musconi	Plenty of time in hand. Perez in the last corner is going. Verstappen now is going. And Norris five ahead will go soon.
Musconi	Strat two.
Musconi	Tsunoda still 16 behind. Alonso two-and-a-half ahead. Four ahead. Four-and-a-half. Five seconds.
Musconi	No radio communication during Bottas’ final timed lap So currently P2.
Musconi	Got Lewis and Leclerc finishing but Lewis is already ahead.
Musconi	So confirm P2. Leis, yourself, super Max, Leclerc, Gasly, Alonso, Perez, Norris, Stroll and Tsunoda. Good job.
Bottas	Well done guuys, good job. So that’s pole tomorrow yeah?
Musconi	Affirm.
Musconi	And you’re coming into the pit lane.
Bottas	Copy.
Musconi	So Lewis’ fastest lap was the first one.
Musconi	It was mainly sector three, a tenth and a half.

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

2021 Turkish Grand Prix

Browse all 2021 Turkish Grand Prix articles

18 comments on “Mercedes didn’t tell Bottas not to beat Hamilton’s lap time”

OOliver
9th October 2021, 20:38

This must be the most stupid theory put forward by anyone.
How do you slow down by exactly a tenth or two and not give Verstappen pole position when the track is getting faster and faster.

Balue (@balue)
9th October 2021, 21:04

..yeah that’s slightly bizarre
floodo1
9th October 2021, 22:00

Sounds like something they’d talk about with garbage tier commentators on Sky LOL
1. Jay Menon (@jaymenon10)
  10th October 2021, 1:47
  
  Yeah, it’s something that Ted and Crofite will. Have a field day with.
  
  Good God, I know it’s a whinge, but I really can’t stand Crofty. Brundle/Button or Brundle/Di Resta!
2. Masompe Maka
  10th October 2021, 10:33
  
  Why is this such a big deal. Lewis has out-qualified Bottas several times but we want to create this narrative?
  1. Zann (@zann)
    10th October 2021, 12:23
    
    Just somebody trying to make out they’re superior to some actual F1 drivers… :)
    
    Personally I think the range of ex drivers Sky have on is quite amazing, and the social skills of the presenting team too.
Ian Tommins (@thelem)
9th October 2021, 23:09

He didn’t need to slow down by exactly a tenth to finish ahead of Verstappen. His earlier lap was already good enough for that (and Verstappen had no opportunity to set a faster lap) so Bottas would have just needed to abort his final lap.

Zann (@zann)
9th October 2021, 21:32

Lewis experimented with a fast S1 didn’t he, earlier in the session, and he lost in S3 that lap, so that was the tradeoff. Anyway that was pretty fair of Mercedes, as usual, and how they keep Bottas onside.

Balue (@balue)
10th October 2021, 7:50

@zann Weird comment right after Sochi when the team sacrificed his race to drop him down the field in order to hold up Verstappen, on the same track they previously ordered him to give up his win to Hamilton, causing him to be so furious he almost quit F1. The way he didn’t hold Verstapppen up at all, but rather delibaretely let him past, says that was too much even for Bottas, which is why the messages now are that we won’t order him to do anything. (of course they will, but not in advance or too blatantly)
1. Zann (@zann)
  10th October 2021, 12:18
  
  ‘Tactical’ can mean about engines too @balue, tho yes the way he let Max through did look like a bit of a finger didn’t it. But wingmen have rights too, even if it’s not all black and white, and Mercedes generally are pretty fair with him I think, considering he’s quite a big step below their No1. Managing their No2 driver is always tricky for teams, with how generally they’ve won everything up until F1 and then they’re in this subordinate position.
2. Emma
  10th October 2021, 15:09
  
  when the team sacrificed his race to drop him down the field in order to hold up Verstappen
  
  You still believe this crap? Or you think it will turn true if you parrot it incessantly?

Esploratore (@esploratore1)
9th October 2021, 22:24

The cynical view and I’m not saying it’s my view, would be answering the title with “they didn’t need to!”, as in they had agreed pre race weekend!

Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
10th October 2021, 1:26

Why would merc do that? They would have had to been right on top of it, the final run order would have allowed for such order that said they had no way to make sure max was going to stay where he was. In my view their priority was to have bottas ahead of max.