Hungarian GP: Bottas Disappointed With Wolff's 'Wingman' Label, Finn Clarifies Ultimatum Comments

Valtteri Bottas was not a happy man after the Hungarian Grand Prix and admitted it was hurtful to have Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff refer to him as a “wingman” after Lewis Hamilton cruised to victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday.

The Finnish racer fended off the Ferrari’s at the start of the race to maintain second place behind his teammate, but the team decided to call him in for his first pit stop earlier than expected in order to cover Kimi Raikkonen, who pitted early.

And with Sebastian Vettel, who was in third, on an alternate strategy having started on the more durable soft tires, Bottas was left defending his place from the German in the second-half of the race. Mercedes opted not to pit the Finn for the second time and in the latter stages of the race he was struggling for grip.

The Mercedes driver eventually slipped from second place to fifth after on track collisions with Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo, who were on much faster and fresher tires. Wolff, who was delighted with Hamilton’s result admitted it was bittersweet owing to Bottas’ situation.

“It feels a bit bittersweet, I don't know why, because Valtteri would have deserved a podium because he was such a sensational wingman,” Wolff said, as per ESPN.

Hamilton’s teammate, however, was not too happy with the Mercedes chief’s comments. He admitted his strategy was initially compromised, which ensured he did not have the tools to battle the Ferrari’s in the latter stages of the race.

“Well, first of all 'wingman' hurts,” he said, after being told what Wolff had said. “Second of all I don't see any positives for me. We thought we should have been able to do that one-stop. We had to stop earlier than we wanted because of Kimi, we had to cover him,” Bottas said.

“Still 20 laps from the end everything was feeling OK, I had good control of the pace and my position. But then the rear tyres started to die. I tried to defend best I could, as aggressive as I could, but it all ended up being a bit of a mess in the end with a broken front wing and everything.”

“I think we need to speak after this race. We are over half way of the year. The points gap is big so I'm sure the team will decide at some point,” the Finn added when asked if the “wingman” comment meant that he needs to play a support role to Hamilton while being his teammate at Mercedes. Especially since his teammate is now the favorite for the 2018 title having extended his lead to 24 points at the top of the table.

Bottas, however, later gave clarification about his comments immediately after the race and made it clear he has not asked for talks with the team bosses for the comments made. He admitted his reaction was in the heat of the moment and that he is aware what Wolff meant when he called him the perfect “wingman.”