Does anyone honestly blame Bottas ? A circuit he is very good at , and he has a “ strategic “ parts change……… I bloody don’t .
Was it really a strategic change? They know he can't play the blocker role. Would be daft to even think that would work.
The bbc said it was strategic . Not as in stopping max but for future races . I still say Valtteri will be fuming . Mercedes chose to change his engine for tactical reasons. It drops him from seventh to 17th but it gives him a fresh engine in his pool and, Mercedes hope, will have minimal impact compared to Red Bull on overall points. There are inevitable suspicions that Mercedes have done it to put Bottas closer to Verstappen and enable him to interfere with his race. Mercedes deny this, and it would seem an odd choice to make if it was about that. Bottas’ racing skills are not exactly renowned for being comparable with those of Verstappen, and on that front it might have been better to have him further ahead and have Verstappen meet him later in the race. It seems this is more about ensuring a good pool of strong engines for the rest of the season
Le Clerc is mighty quick you know- Verstappen can’t shake him off. If ever it rains with that massive rear wing downforce Le Clerc would be mighty I’d say