The ‘wingman’ gate has presented the Formula 1 fraternity with a lot of content in the last 24 hours, with Wolff first initiating it, followed by a response from Bottas and later clarification messages released by both Wolff and Bottas.
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Some out of context news around..I have not called a meeting with the bosses for Toto saying I was the perfect wingman in this race. There is no need to. I was disapponted with my end result in the race and saw everything in a negative way for a moment. I know what he ment
— Valtteri Bottas (@ValtteriBottas) July 29, 2018
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And he would have said the same about Lewis if he’d be in same situation and had a similar race.
We are on equal terms and I trust the team 100% on that. All good. We’ll keep pushing! It’ll come. #VB77 @MercedesAMGF1— Valtteri Bottas (@ValtteriBottas) July 29, 2018
While these messages did spark a lot of discussion around what the actual scenario inside the Mercedes team was and how teams generally deal with supposedly ‘no. 2 drivers’, it has given us the best dose of laughter for today as well.
On his Instagram, Bottas came up with the story of an aeroplane wing, probably with the idea of trolling himself after the entire wingman gate.
Or it could be a dig taken at the Mercedes management.
Now, while Bottas has confirmed that the team hasn’t really singled him out as the number 2 driver, or designated him to be Hamilton’s ‘wingman’; we all know that in theory he already is and might stay the same for this and the next season.
Here is where the team management and the driver’s understanding of the entire situation comes into play.
Clearly, Hamilton has been the quicker of the two and continues to be and hence Bottas shouldn’t really be taken aback by the ‘no.2’ role.
However, saying that out loud in a public forum could cause a massive dent to his confidence, something that he needs to clear with his team.
It will be interesting to see if Mercedes actually opt for team orders somewhere down the season and how Bottas and the entire F1 fraternity.
