Former F1 Champion Blames Valtteri Bottas for Mercedes’ Strategy Blunder in France

Valtteri Bottas didn’t have the weekend he wanted to at the recent French Grand Prix. The Finn lost a podium finish and had to settle for fourth place. Bottas was furious with Mercedes as they didn’t listen to him for having a two-stop strategy, which could possibly given the Brackley-based outfit a better result.

However, former F1 driver Damon Hill doesn’t agree with Bottas and feels that he should have taken more responsibility. He thinks that Valtteri should have been more assertive with the team, and come into the pits, even if they didn’t agree on the strategy.

Hill doesn’t have any sympathy for Valtteri Bottas after strategy fail

On an episode of the podcast, F1 Nation with TC, Pinks & Damon, Hill said, “Why didn’t he just come in anyway? The point is, it’s about responsibility. If Valtteri wanted to just say, ‘I’m coming in, get the tyres’, he has to take the responsibility for it not working.

“And the thing about decisions like that is it’s who’s going to take the can when it goes wrong,” he concluded.

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What did the Finn say on the team radio?

Mercedes’ number #77 driver was in third place and looked like he was set to feature on the top step at Paul Ricard. However, he was soon overtaken by Sergio Perez and fell down to fourth. Bottas was furious with his Mercedes colleagues when they didn’t listen to him for a two-stop strategy, which could have given a better set of tires that would see them finish in third.

Bottas came on the radio and said, “Why the f*ck you didn’t listen to me when I told you it was gonna be a two-stopper? F*cking hell!”

A frustrated Bottas had to settle for fourth place and earned twelve points for his team that weekend. However, the next race takes the paddock to Austria, a race where he won the opening round last season.

Hence, Bottas is looking forward to the race this weekend, as a way of redeeming himself from the heartbreaking French GP. Can Valtteri bounce back at the Red Bull Ring and bring home twenty-five points for the Silver Arrows? We will just have to wait for the weekend to find out.

Read More: Not a Good Vibe: Ex F1 Driver Believes Bottas Has Been Told of Mercedes Departure

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