Valtteri Bottas says having the backing of Mercedes after securing his 2020 Formula 1 future at the world champions has given him a peace of mind to attack the end of the season as he continues to target the title and taking on teammate Lewis Hamilton.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has confirmed Valtteri Bottas will be allowed “to go flat out” against teammate Lewis Hamilton in the Formula 1 world drivers’ title battle despite the expanding points margin between the pair.
Valtteri Bottas will remain with Mercedes for the 2020 Formula 1 season after the team confirmed on Thursday it had activated the option in his contract, keeping him at Brackley for a fourth year.
Valtteri Bottas says he isn’t paying attention to the “much bigger than I would like” gap in the Formula 1 world championship standings to Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton after losing further ground at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton says he is still recovering from the illness which plagued his German Grand Prix having taken the week off before the Hungarian Grand Prix to rest in his bid to return to full fitness.
The 2019 Formula 1 season reached its half-way stage as the German Grand Prix delivered one of the best races of recent times with a wet and wild spectacle.
Valtteri Bottas says he didn’t have consistent braking and feeling from his Mercedes throughout qualifying for the German Grand Prix and feels it restrained him to third place behind pole-sitting teammate Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff believes Valtteri Bottas can take pride from his qualifying performances compared to teammate Lewis Hamilton but feels with his race craft he’s still “getting there”.
Valtteri Bottas has hailed the progress gained from Mercedes’ cooling upgrades and feels the team “would have struggled massively today” without it in the hot conditions ahead of the German Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton concedes “a much bigger design issue” will hamper Mercedes in its bid to fix its overheating issues which he fears could reappear at the German Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen says he’d back the return of refuelling in Formula 1 if it meant races would be “flat out” fights rather than being dominated by fuel and tyre conservation strategies.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff believes Valtteri Bottas has made significant improvements to his performances this season as he remains tight-lipped on the team’s 2020 driver plans.
Lewis Hamilton says it is vital he and Mercedes Formula 1 teammate Valtteri Bottas maintain respect for one another as the 2019 title fight intensifies.
Lewis Hamilton delighted his home crowd with a record sixth British Grand Prix victory as Silverstone celebrated its newly-secured Formula 1 future with a classic race.
While Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is happy to let Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas race freely against each other but has made a stand against “dirty” racing which he feels took place between Red Bull and Ferrari drivers during the British Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton says his mentality for the 2019 Formula 1 world title fight hasn’t changed with his healthy points lead as he reveals he’s looking to beat his own previous feats rather than defend from Valtteri Bottas.
Daniel Ricciado says MotoGP riders “are going to kick up a fuss” over sections of the Silverstone resurfacing as he feels the track surface remains bumpy.
Lewis Hamilton says despite promising signs on the timesheet he has struggled battling conditions and the new Silverstone track surface while he feels Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas was “much more comfortable” ahead of the British Grand Prix.