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“Why the **** Did No One Listen to Me?”: Bottas’ Mercedes F1 Story in a Nutshell

Before signing on to be Lewis Hamilton’s wingman at Mercedes, Finnish F1 driver Valtteri Bottas showed excellent form while racing for Williams from 2013 to 2016, when he replaced World Championship winner Nico Rosberg at the AMG-powered outfit.
Valtteri Bottas' #77 Mercedes-AMG Formula 1 car 8 photos
Photo: LAT Images for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd
Valtteri Bottas' #77 Mercedes-AMG Formula 1 carValtteri Bottas' #77 Mercedes-AMG Formula 1 carValtteri BottasValtteri Bottas' #77 Mercedes-AMG Formula 1 carValtteri Bottas' #77 Mercedes-AMG Formula 1 carValtteri BottasValtteri Bottas' #77 Mercedes-AMG Formula 1 car
While it took him a while to get settled in, eventually he would start performing admirably behind Lewis Hamilton, finishing second in the Drivers' Standings in both 2019 and 2020. The problem, some would say, is that he never really came close to usurping Hamilton as the team’s no.1 driver, nor did he manage to gain equal footing in terms of race strategy, as Mercedes would often use Bottas as more of a decoy during races in order to figure out Hamilton’s strategy, once the latter showed yet again that he was the quicker man.

From the outside looking in, it just seems as though Bottas never stood a chance with Hamilton as his teammate, which is odd considering the fact that he’s a genuinely talented individual, with 59 podiums under his belt, 17 pole positions and a total of 9 race wins.

Unfortunately for the Fin, the 2021 Formula 1 season is already looking rather disastrous. After this past weekend’s French Grand Prix, Bottas is just fifth in the Drivers’ Standings, with 59 points to Verstappen’s 131 points. Hamilton meanwhile is runner-up with 119 points, with Red Bull’s Sergio Perez (84 pts) and McLaren’s Lando Norris (76 pts) in third and fourth, respectively.

If you think this situation isn’t frustrating Bottas to the point where he’s going to let the entire world know it, you’d be wrong. During the race at the Circuit Paul Ricard, Bottas just blurted out this little nugget: “Why the f**k did no one listen to me when I said it was a two-stopper.”

This was late in the race, on lap 46 of 53, but the 31-year-old did share his thoughts with his team on what was happening much earlier in the Grand Prix, while referring to the number of times Red Bull's drivers would eventually come in for a fresh new set of tires.

Valtteri Bottas
Photo: Steve Etherington for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd
Bottas saw himself fall from second to fourth after getting overtaken by Max Verstappen with 10 laps to go, and then Sergio Perez as well, but not before letting his race engineer know that his tires were “f**king finished,” visibly upset with Mercedes holding him to a one-stop strategy. It meant he was more or less a sitting duck for the two Red Bull drivers with their newer (and quicker) medium compound tires.

After the race, Bottas went on to reiterate his feelings from before, saying that a two-stop strategy would have put him in contention for a race win, seen as how he was able to keep up with both Verstappen and Hamilton through the first half of the race. By the way, Hamilton lost out due to the one-stop strategy too, with Max Verstappen flying past the reigning champ on the penultimate lap.

As for how Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff feels about Bottas’ outburst, apparently, he’s a fan.

“I loved it, that he speaks his mind now, and doesn’t internalize it,” Wolff told Autosport, before adding that he still believes the one-stopper was the better strategy. That latter part of the statement seems a little strange though. It’s like if the GM of the Philadelphia 76ers said that he still thinks not trading Ben Simmons for James Harden (the deal was on the table earlier this season) was the better strategy, after Ben Simmons just cost them a trip to the conference finals by nearly averaging as few points per game against the Atlanta Hawks as your or I.

Ultimately, this brings us back to Bottas and his future at Mercedes. Wolff's comments seem almost a little condescending, not that we’re making any accusations. However, it’s hard to believe he’s now finally thrilled with Bottas’ attitude when the Fin is clearly not delivering up to expectations and Williams’ George Russell is chomping at the bit to land Bottas’ seat at Mercedes come next year.

Let’s put it this way, if Mercedes-AMG’s F1 driver line up for 2022 doesn’t include Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, we’ll be genuinely shocked; like, about a 9 on a scale of 1 to 10. It’s inevitable, as the “colorful” Agent Smith used to say.

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About the author: Sergiu Tudose
Sergiu Tudose profile photo

Sergiu got to experience both American and European car "scenes" at an early age (his father drove a Ford Fiesta XR2 supermini in the 80s). After spending over 15 years at local and international auto publications, he's starting to appreciate comfort behind the wheel more than raw power and acceleration.
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