Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff was heard giving driver Valtteri Bottas some words of encouragement during qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which he explained afterwards was part of a deal between him and the Finn.
Wolff came over the radio to say: “All you have, Valtteri”, as the 31-year-old began his final flying lap which saw him qualify second, ahead of Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton, but behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen by just 0.025s.
Explaining why he said what he did, Wolff said it was part of an agreement to better support Bottas following a number of difficult races.
“It’s always tricky when you talk to the driver before qualifying or the race,” Wolff told Sky F1. “But it’s something we discussed. And he said, I need a little feedback from you, it is always good.
“It’s difficult because I’ve never talked to the drivers, because I felt that from my experience it is a bit distracting. But everybody’s different and with him we had a good talk.
“Obviously, when the championship was lost, it’s always difficult to cope with it. And that’s why he said, let’s talk a little bit more.”
It comes after Bottas admitted he needed to do better, suggesting title defeat once again was a factor in his form tailing off in recent races.
Bottas welcomed the additional support from his team boss, adding: “He can always talk to us if he wants. The last days, we’ve had a chat about different things, and we’re a team. We support each other if we feel like.
“And if you can support another person in the team with encouragement or certain words, you do it. It would be the same for any team member. Nothing more than that, it’s a more personal thing.”
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