Right call by Merc, plenty to play for yet & I'm sure Bittas will do the same at some point.
Shame lewus could not reign in Kimi & Seb, great race..
Alonso 6th & loving the deck chair painting of the spaniard
& a nice touch by the gush of wind lifting up the pit girls skirt up on the podiums
There's always some with a watchful eye!
For sure, if it was agreed by Lewis that he would hand it back over (and it does seem that way) then that's fine but the mistake comes earlier in the race. The moment Lewis was right behind Valtteri's gearbox after the round of pit stops I would moved Bottas over straight away. Lewis was the faster car as shown by how much closer he got to Kimi's gearbox compared to Bottas and could have got even closer had they been swapped over immediately rather than waiting 10 laps or so.
There is a lack of ruthlessness on the Mercedes pit wall that could cost them the drivers championship. Compare that to Ferrari today when Kimi had the much faster pace due to Seb's problems and should have won and you realise just how big a gulf there is. It may rile people up the wrong way what with past incidents regarding Alonso/Massa and Schumacher/Barrichello but there is no doubt that it maximises their potential to win the championship and they make Mercedes look soft in comparison.
Two cars for each team and only one knows how to use the second car to protect and enhance their title credentials. One thing's for sure - if it was Ross Brawn on the Merc pit wall then Lewis would have been told to keep the third place. When you have those points in your hand you HAVE to cash them in regardless.
Logged