Valtteri Bottas feels his only major worry during his charge to victory at the Japanese Grand Prix came when Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton had the opportunity to switch his strategy to a one-stop while leading.
Lewis Hamilton says he is open to ideas to tweak Formula 1 race weekend formats with a particular focus at circuits where racing is typically “boring” such as the Singapore and Monaco rounds.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff sees his squad as the challengers to Ferrari in Formula 1 despite its healthy points lead in the 2019 world championship standings.
Here are the latest F1 driver ratings following an eventful Russian Grand Prix which saw Mercedes secure a 1-2 finish with Lewis Hamilton winning from Valtteri Bottas.
Valtteri Bottas has described the fortunate timing of the Virtual Safety Car period as “a miracle” for Mercedes which helped his team leapfrog Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to secure a 1-2 at the Russian Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton has dismissed focusing on the 2019 Formula 1 world title despite his lead in the drivers’ world championship which was extended to 73 points over Valtteri Bottas thanks to victory at the Russian Grand Prix.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff feels the straight-line speed deficit to Ferrari means the performance gap between the two teams “is almost uncatchable” for the remainder of the 2019 Formula 1 season given the current championship picture.
Lewis Hamilton feels he got close to perfection with his final qualifying lap at the Russian Grand Prix but still missed out on pole position by over four-tenths of a second due to what he called Ferrari’s “jet mode” to excel on the straights.
Alfa Romeo has seen its appeal against the post-race penalties for clutch irregularities at the German Grand Prix rejected by the FIA Court of Appeal, meaning both Lewis Hamilton and Robert Kubica retain the points they gained in the final classification.
Valtteri Bottas wants to fight back at favoured circuit Sochi Autodrom after enduring a tough Singapore Grand Prix last time out, while memories of being denied victory by Mercedes team orders in Russia 12 months ago are still firmly in his mind.
Sebastian Vettel has put the favourite tag on Mercedes at the Singapore Grand Prix but feels Ferrari can stay within reach if it can solve its grip instability at the Marina Bay Street Circuit.
Lewis Hamilton has paid tribute to Robert Kubica following the Polish driver’s decision to leave Williams at the end of 2019 and believes he is still “one of the most talented drivers that I have competed against”.
Charles Leclerc says securing his first two Formula 1 race wins acts as evidence Ferrari were right to promote him to the team in just his second year in the championship and silences his critics.
Valtteri Bottas says he won’t give up in the Formula 1 world title fight until it is mathematically impossible for him to claim the championship despite the huge points deficit he faces to Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton.