F1: Mercedes orders ‘fully justified’, Ferrari boss on Juventus shortlist

Pundits agree with Mercedes team orders

BBC columnist Jolyon Palmer and F1.com digital presenter Will Buxton believe Mercedes were correct to issue team orders that enabled Lewis Hamilton to finish first ahead of Valtteri Bottas at the Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix.

At the Sochi Autodrom on Sunday, Bottas conceded the lead to Hamilton. As a result the British driver took the chequered flag and extended his lead in the drivers’ standings over his title rival Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

In his BBC column, former Renault driver Palmer said it was a “controversial moment” for Mercedes but a fully understandable one given the battle with Ferrari for the F1 championship.

“As much as it was a shame for Bottas, and for the race, it was the obvious thing to do,” said Palmer.

“Many fans were clearly not amused that Mercedes had ‘rigged’ the race, as they saw it, to let Hamilton win. But in my view the actions of team boss Toto Wolff and Mercedes were fully justified.”

F1.com’s Buxton added: “This isn’t the same scenario as when Hamilton and Nico Rosberg were fighting for the championship. This isn’t teammate versus teammate. It’s Hamilton versus Vettel, Mercedes versus Ferrari, team versus team. And Bottas is part of that Mercedes team.”

Hamilton currently leads Vettel by 50 points and there are five races remaining in the 2018 season. The next one is the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday.

Arrivabene: from F1 to football?

Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene is a candidate to become the new general director of Italian football giants Juventus.

Both Ferrari and Juve are investments of Exor, a holding company controlled by the Agnelli family. Sky Sports reports that Exor has released a shortlist of nine names being considered to replace Giuseppe Marotta, the outgoing Juve chief. Arrivabene, who has close ties to the Agnelli family, is one of the nine.

Will the qualifying rules be shaken up in 2019?

Autosport reports that the FIA, the governing body of motor sport, is considering changes to F1’s qualifying format from next season.

In a bid to make qualifying more exciting, four sessions could be introduced. Autosport’s Adam Cooper writes: “[It] would involve four cars being eliminated in Q1, Q2 and Q3, leaving just eight for a final shootout in a new Q4 session.”