Bottas and Wolff put an end to ‘wingman’ spat

Valtteri Bottas and Toto Wolff have both insisted there is no problem between them following the Mercedes team chief’s “sensational wingman” comments after Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix.

Initially, Bottas had said that he was hurt by what Wolff had said, adding that he would be seeking clarification about his role in the team.

But yesterday the Finn tweeted that he had not called for a meeting with the team and fully understood Wolff’s remarks, while the team boss said the selfless Bottas had delivered his best race for the team.

“Some out of context news around …” Bottas tweeted. “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 disappointed with my end result in the race and saw everything in a negative way for a moment. I know what he meant. 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 per cent on that. All good. We’ll keep pushing! It’ll come.”

Wolff had earlier clarified his post-race comments, said in the aftermath of championship leader Briton Lewis Hamilton’s record sixth victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Referring to reports of Bottas’s reaction, Wolff said: “That’s exactly why things that are not being discussed directly face-to-face are being completely spun out of control in the wrong way.

“In today’s race, starting P2, after Lap 1, Valtteri’s race was the perfect wingman race – and I don’t mean it in championship terms, because we have no No 1, we have no number two, but it was just how he was racing.

“It was, from my standpoint, [his] best race so far with Mercedes in the last two years.”

Wolff said Mercedes were “surprised” Bottas had resisted the Ferraris – led by Sebastian Vettel, who eventually finished second – and protected Hamilton for so long on his way to finishing fifth.