Wolff 'careful' about Bottas-Hamilton rivalry
2019 could be shaping up as a two-driver race for the title.
But it may not involve a Ferrari driver. Mercedes has won every single race so far in record-breaking 1-2s, and Valtteri Bottas leads Lewis Hamilton by a single point.
Sebastian Vettel, the highest scoring non-Mercedes driver, is a full 35 points adrift.
"It's too early to say that only one other person is in the world championship," said Hamilton.
The reigning world champion then said he was "too friendly" to Bottas in the fight for turn one, and indicated he hopes the fight stays that way.
"Some of my teammates have not kept to agreements," Hamilton charged, apparently referring to Nico Rosberg.
Toto Wolff, the Mercedes boss, certainly hopes the Hamilton-Bottas rivalry does not turn into another Hamilton-Rosberg type situation.
The Mercedes drivers denied they had been ordered to hold position at the end of the Baku race, but Wolff was spotted pressing the radio button at a crucial moment.
"No, there was no team order," Wolff insisted.
"If I had talked to the drivers, it's audible to everyone," he explained. "I pressed the button for the internal radio.
"I rarely speak directly to the drivers, because I know that sometimes I get a bit too emotional.
"What the TV viewers saw was when I consulted with our strategists about Vettel and whether we could afford to reduce our performance."
But there is no doubt that with Bottas leading the world championship, the situation is at least similar to when Hamilton and Rosberg's relationship completely broke down.
"We need to remember that Vettel or Leclerc can very quickly return to the fight, so we must avoid the sharpness that was in the relationship between Lewis and Nico," Wolff said.
"We are very fortunate that they have a good relationship, but we need to be careful. We've seen relationships break down in the past."
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"...Toto Wolff, the Mercedes boss, certainly hopes the Hamilton-Bottas rivalry does not turn into another Hamilton-Rosberg type situation...."
He may hope it doesn't, but the rest of us certainly do.
Didn't Hamilton imply that in Baku he was soft towards Bottas and let him win the race? I just wonder if Lewis is so generous to let his team mate win other races but I know that he definitely dislikes to play a second fiddle. Valtteri is determined to undermine Hamilton supremacy as he is fighting to prove his status and retain a place in Mercedes for next season, so I hope that he makes success of his championship quest. Ferrari could spoil things for Mercs. if they improve their performance rapidly, otherwise it will be Bottas against Hamilton in the title chase and everything will be rather predictable and for me the 4 races we have had this season were flat and lacklustre. Perhaps by some miracle races in Europe will be far more dynamic and inspiring and give F1 fans greater enjoyment.
hopefully Ferrari get hot in Europe, but it always seem the Mercs have steady control of the situation and play possum very well. Looks like Hamilton is starting to play his passive aggressive mind games. Hopefully it falls on deaf ears for Bottas.
lets go team LH!!! so many haters.