Valtteri Bottas can sleep peacefully. The 30-year-old Finn is also in the next year, a Mercedes-Pilot. For the fourth Time in a row, his contract was extended by a season. Never before Bottas had to make as little Worried about his future. After the nail-biter in the last year, when he was made because of a losing streak in the middle of the season is seriously in question, had been agreed and this time before the actual start of the season in March to come, at the latest, until June a decision. Then the Corona came in between crisis. "We agreed to let the first three or four races into the country," said Bottas. The Rest was a matter of form, which is why he was also not distracted large. "The contract is virtually a copy of last year. It was very easy to put my signature underneath.“
the official announcement of the team a lot of confidence and continuity of the speech. "We are experiencing the strongest Valtteri, ever, physically and mentally," on justified team boss Toto Wolff in the step: "With his work on and off the track, he plays an important role for the performance of the entire team." Bottas reminded that the Limit was not yet reached: "As I meet with Mercedes on like-Minded people. The are also never satisfied with the results.“
Hamilton like a machine
In a way, Lewis Hamilton is one of the least pleasant team of colleagues in the field. The six-times world champion is driving like a machine. And if he made a few slip-up does, however, like at the season opener in Austria, can Bottas to be sure he strikes back in the next race even stronger. This constancy Bottas would have broken up in the first two years at Mercedes, almost. After a season without a win in 2018, he spent a whole Winter working on his weaknesses. "I have looked, in which curves Lewis is faster and why. How he deals with certain Situations and what I'm doing differently. In which he does his work. I only have this a career and wanted me to have to ask again after a season, what I need to do, everything would have been better.“
Bottas came to the conclusion that he was much less likely to be in the best possible performance, as Hamilton. "And only if I bring my best performance, I can beat Lewis." The magic formula: "Negative thoughts into positive energy." So he scared away every Annoyance that he is after the puncture in Silverstone last Sunday, and before this Sunday's upcoming second race in England (15.10 in the F. A. Z.-liveticker Formel 1, Sky and RTL), already 30 points behind his stable rival. "Is ticked. Silverstone gives me this week, a new Chance.“
Mercedes technical boss James Allison has understood the driver issue anyway never really. "Why should we change a driver pairing that is so successful? Many Teams would be envious of our drivers. Any disturbance in this System involves only sources of error.“ Also Toto Wolff speaks of the almost perfect mixture. "On a bad day, from Lewis, Valtteri is there. And on a good day, Lewis is unbeatable. The dynamics and the mood between the two was just right. If you have two big egos in the Team, the championship Team is difficult," he says: "this is Why they are the best solution for us."
Alonso was never an Option
this is the reason why Fernando Alonso was never an Option for Mercedes. And that's why it would have been difficult, Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel team together, even though both get along on a personal level with each other. Two alpha animals in a cage have already blown up some of the team structure. In addition, Mercedes should have been in this constellation, his diamonds in the rough George Russell to explain why he is not in the square next to Hamilton would get. The benefits of the 22-year-old Englishman at Williams suggest that here is a Champion grows up. Russell managed to last three times one after the other in the second knockout round of qualifying. This is a Williams felt as good as the Pole-Position for Mercedes.
Date Of Update: 08 August 2020, 07:19
