After 81 starts Valtteri Bottas finally secured his maiden Formula 1 race victory at the Russian Grand Prix in Sochi last time out, becoming only the fifth Finnish driver to win a race in the sport. In doing so he has joined the likes of Kimi Raikkonen and Mika Hakkinen, however the topic of team orders within Mercedes is still hotly discussed by many in the paddock.
When it was announced that Bottas would join Mercedes in 2017 to replace reigning world champion Nico Rosberg, it was no secret that it was only a one-year deal. The former Williams racer would be pitched alongside arguably one of the greatest drivers on the grid in Lewis Hamilton and therefore knew he was essentially entering a lions den where Hamilton would undoubtedly be considered as the senior driver.
For Bottas to dispel these assumptions he would need to immediately assert himself within Mercedes, and despite picking up a trophy after his first race with the German marque in Australia with third place behind Hamilton and race winner Sebastian Vettel, Bottas let his guard down next time out in China.
After a wet start to the second round of the season in China Bottas found the going tough, spinning under the safety car after switching to dry tyres and trying to warm them up. The mistake was criticised by team boss and former manager Toto Wolff, who thought Bottas threw away a chance of a podium finish, and was the first real indication that the Finn might be slightly out of his depth in a team like Mercedes with a car as refined as the W08.
However, only six days later in Bahrain Bottas bounced back with his maiden pole position, qualifying just ahead of team-mate Hamilton. However the Finn was unable to translate such a superb qualifying performance into a race win, with team orders even being applied so that Hamilton could move ahead of Bottas to try and take the fight to eventual race winner Vettel.
In Russia Bottas was immediately quicker than team-mate Hamilton, who endured an uncharacteristically uncompetitive weekend. The three-time champion failed to top any sessions throughout the weekend and eventually qualified and finished fourth. Meanwhile team-mate Bottas enjoyed a start reminiscent of Hakkinen at the 1998 Italian Grand Prix and shot into a commanding lead.
During the closing laps Bottas kept as cool as a cucumber and fended off the advances of Vettel in the Ferrari to take his maiden victory in superlative style, thoroughly making up for his mistake in China and showing that he is simply not at Mercedes to make up the numbers.
But as sensational as Bottas’s victory in Sochi was, the jury is still out as to whether Mercedes should still be focusing solely on Hamilton as their primary candidate for championship glory. The opinion of team orders in F1 has always been divided between fans and members of the paddock alike, however there is no denying that they have a place in the sport.
Last season Mercedes showed that having team orders essentially used against you during the early stages of the season does not necessarily automatically make you the number two driver. In Monaco last season Rosberg was woefully off of the pace during the early stages of the race, holding up team-mate Hamilton and allowing the Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo to open up an early lead in the inclement weather conditions.
With the gap to Ricciardo and Rosberg eventually opening up to over ten seconds, Mercedes elected to instruct Rosberg to allow Hamilton through. The German dutifully obeyed, allowing Hamilton to whittle away Ricciardo’s lead and take his first victory of the 2016 season. Despite this decision by Mercedes Rosberg still won the championship, showing quite clearly that team orders are not always the end of a drivers chances of rising to the top.
Although Bottas has quelled the naysayers who believe he is simply at Mercedes on a one-year contract before a more lucrative prospect such as Fernando Alonso, Carlos Sainz or Esteban Ocon becomes available by bouncing back with his maiden pole in Bahrain and his maiden victory in Russia, one must take into consideration that two races does not immediately make a driver all-of-a-sudden championship material.
Admittedly Bottas now knows what it feels like to win a race and theoretically should be able to repeat such a feat in the future, but Hamilton is still the triple world champion with 54 victories to his name.
So what should Mercedes do if Bottas finds himself ahead of Hamilton at one of the next races? Imagine if Bottas was leading the Spanish or Monaco Grand Prix ahead of Hamilton, with a scenario reminiscent of the Russian Grand Prix when Vettel was catching Bottas at a rate of knots. Behind the Silver Arrows a Ferrari is also closing them down substantially. Do Mercedes employ team orders, instructing Bottas to let Hamilton through so that the driver everyone assumes will be a season-long title contender picks up the vital points he needs?
Or do Mercedes let their drivers race, allowing Bottas to potentially take victory but with the added pressure from Ferrari and theoretically throwing away victory altogether? The German marque has always insisted they let their drivers race, but after the Spanish Grand Prix last season that way of thinking has been severely dented.
Whichever way you look at it Hamilton is widely regarded as the senior driver and rightly so, however Bottas is slowly beginning to show that he is getting to grips with life as a Mercedes driver at the sharp end of the order. For some, including myself, it is still hard to consider Bottas as a championship contender alongside Hamilton and Vettel, however if Hamilton has another couple of race weekends like he did in Sochi then Mercedes could find themselves hard pushed to warrant using team orders against Bottas.
Ultimately for Bottas in a perfect world he only needs to replicate his Sochi success to remain a threat to Hamilton’s authority within Mercedes, qualifying and finishing ahead of the triple world champion. Admittedly it’s easier said than done, but it is the simplest way to continue improving his stature in Mercedes and proving why team orders against him should become a thing of the past.
