Mexican Grand Prix – Toto Wolff on Valtteri Bottas’ departure: “it shouldn’t happen”
If Mercedes had surprised everyone by lining up their two cars on the front row of the grid, Max Verstappen managed to take advantage of an open door to turn in front right from the first corner.
Everyone was wondering who would come out on top at the end of this endless Mexican straight. Mercedes was in a strong position with its two drivers in the top two spots to block their pursuers’ attacks. However, it was Max Verstappen who found himself in the lead even before the first corner, taking advantage of a nice gap left by Valtteri Bottas.
During an interview with Sky Sport, Toto Wolf was questioned about Valtteri Bottas’ departure and according to him, the driver of car number 77 could have done much better. For Wolff, giving such room to Max Verstappen should not happen!
The team manager goes even further in his analysis of the start: « We had two cars in front and it seems he is leaving a gap for Max to pass us on the outside.
#MexicoGP 🇲🇽 – C’est le départ
La course au titre se poursuit entre Lewis Hamilton et Max Verstappen
▶️ https://t.co/7plkVVV12v pic.twitter.com/DzWTYWxuD7
— CANAL+ F1® (@CanalplusF1) November 7, 2021
A nightmare Grand Prix had just begun for the Finnish driver, who was spun out at the first corner by Daniel Ricciardo. The two men then found themselves on the track throughout the race, without Valtteri being able to find an opening on the Australian’s McLaren. Valtteri’s spin is a big loss of points, it could have been a third or fourth place, it’s at least annoying, continued Toto Wolff.
The only positive point of the weekend for Bottas was to take back the point for the fastest lap from Max Verstappen, a point that could be crucial in the race for the world championship title. When asked about this, Toto Wolff declared: “Yes, that doesn’t really console me at this point. You see that on a single lap we have the pace, or at least to take the fastest lap from Max. But overall, it’s a day to forget for us.”
