Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes, Baku City Circuit, 2019

Mercedes drivers hail team’s ‘best start to a season ever’

2019 Azerbaijan Grand Prix

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Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton praised their Mercedes team after scoring their fourth consecutive one-two finish in as many races at the start of the season.

Bottas led the two W10s home from pole position, despite Hamilton breathing down his neck in the final laps. “It was actually a tough race even though maybe not that much happening at the front,” he said.

“Obviously Lewis was putting pressure all the time so I could not do any mistakes. But honestly everything was under control so I’m happy to receive the chequered flag and get this first place.”

His second victory of 2019 gives him a one-point lead in the drivers’ championship over Hamilton. “It means a lot,” he said. “It’s incredible as a team on which kind of level we are performing now so I would say to the guys I’m so proud to be part of that. We’re all performing really well.

“For me as well it’s only my fifth win so of course it feels good and it carries on well.”

Hamilton described their fourth one-two as “a great result for the team” and “the best start to a season we’ve ever had.”

“It’s a team effort,” he said. “Everyone back in the factory has been working non-stop. Every year they come back more hungry for success and it’s a true testament to the strength and depth within the team. We’re proud of everyone and grateful to be part of it.”

“It was a really great race. For once we were able to push the whole way so it was pretty cool.”

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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17 comments on “Mercedes drivers hail team’s ‘best start to a season ever’”

  1. Wow, and with Ferrari being clearly the dominant car as well!

    1. They are clearly just giving Merc a head-start…..just you wait till….erm….Barcelona??!?

    2. I’m assuming that assessment was tongue-in-cheek?

  2. It’s just amazing to see the underdog get 4 1-2 finishes in a row

    1. Heheh yeah – such a great team blah blah. Were on the backfoot in Barcelona (anyone remember the we are half second behind quotes), clearly slower than “mega” Ferrari blah blah and blah blah…. seriously. We are in for a really boring season. The fact that they hype up the opposition makes it even worse…

    2. @anunaki these 1-2s are because of their ‘super duper 2.0 and mega blessed’ drivers

  3. And that with RedBull so close behind, and Renault being a true danger… blah blah.

    They are as dominant as currently possible. Only points they left on the table were due to fastest lap, and only those came from people pitting safely behind.

    1. We are clearly the underdogs blah blah, we are catching up with Ferrari blah blah, the Ferraris are clearly faster blah blah… I mean, seriously, can someone from Ferrari just speak up and tell these guys to their faces that they aren’t fooling anyone?

  4. Mercedes is winning only because Vettel isnt feeling as confortable in the car as in winter testing yet.
    4 races, 4 qualifying sessions and 12 free practices in, and he is not confortable yet. Give him time.

    1. @edvaldo Unfortunately, he doesn’t have time for that forever before the gap gets too significant to claw back anymore.

  5. Can the media please now stop trying to spin this fantasy “Ferrari have the faster car” plot to this story, and wake up to the fact that Mercedes are gaming everyone.
    Their car has been as fast or faster since day one of testing, but with the team lobbying for post 2021 rules to remain largely unchanged from their current form, they’ve played games all season to delay the obvious and avoid the clean sheet of paper rules most other manufacturers, teams & fans have been asking for.

    Also, can someone explain to Toto that he’s not eligible for the Best Actor award at this years Academy’s … no matter how many scripted interviews he gives or how many times he punches the desk or the air in mock disgust or delight.
    Same goes for Lewis in his supporting actor role.

    1. Mate, the British media loves to maintain the pretence of a real “fight” when there is none. They feel good that their lad Lewis beats other clearly faster cars and is so good. This website is at least very neutral but when it comes to sky commentary or the British tabloids it is downright irritating…

  6. Anothee season over so soon.

  7. F1oSaurus (@)
    28th April 2019, 17:52

    If Leclerc’s car had kept working in Bahrain and if he hadn’t binned it in Q2 then of course things would have been very different.

    Still, Ferrari blundering away the points is almost a given the last few seasons, so indeed why not take that as a given.

    1. Yeah, was on verge of writing more based on how annoyed I was from lap 24 until Leclerc pitted but you said it..Ferrari strategy equals extreme stupidity. In last 40 years there was only one time that Ferrari consistently made good strategy calls. It was when Schumacher was there and nobody dared step on his toes because it was obvious how great he was in every category. He calculated strategy better than the entire Ferrari team combined while setting fastest lap after lap. It was like Ferrari were trying with all their might to lose today.

  8. Maybe to stop the whining, Mercedes should be forced to do an extra lap.

  9. Winter is to come first than Ferrari.

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