Bottas "trusts" Mercedes over engine upgrade refusal
Valtteri Bottas says he is not frustrated by Mercedes' decision not to provide its latest engine to its customer teams, despite the call making it much harder for Williams to close the gap to the pacesetters.
The works cars have been equipped with a 2016-spec engine since Monza and Mercedes' customers have since expressed their desire to get their hands on the upgraded power units.
However, it is Mercedes' company policy to treat all its customers equally and give them sufficient upgraded parts at the same time, and the management has decided that it is not possible to provide the Monza engine to Williams, Force India and Lotus within the time frame of the last few races.
"We are still happy that we have a Mercedes engine," said Bottas today. "Even though it's not a new step, it's a very good engine, and it is competitive, and we can get good results with it.
"I'm sure there is some kind of thinking behind it, why the customer teams are not getting those, because for sure if Mercedes would think that's best for us, of course we would be better [at] challenging Ferrari, and that would help them.
"I do trust that they are thinking what is best for us as well, so I'm not disappointed because of that"
"It's not frustrating because I really think that they would give us the best possible engine to try and beat Ferrari," Bottas added when pressed on the issue.
"There must be some reason behind it. I don't know whether it's reliability or what. But I trust them.
"Life is not always fair, and nor is F1. Like I told you before, I still think we have the best possible engine for us to try and get maximum points for the rest of the year."
Share Or Save This Story
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
Valtteri Bottas suffers parking blunder in Amelia Dimoldenberg's "Passenger Princess"
Valtteri Bottas sees clear Cadillac progress amid challenging first F1 season
You Ask The Questions: Valtteri Bottas
Kimi Antonelli's "precious" moment with father goes viral after Spanish GP win
How Kimi Antonelli is proving unbeatable, even when he's beaten
George Russell closer than ever to giving up on 2026 F1 title
Tyler Reddick goes airborne in Gateway wreck as Christopher Bell rues “missed opportunity”
Joey Logano explains why Kyle Larson beat him in the end at Gateway
Bubba Wallace reacts to 'embarrassing' Gateway Cup race: "Everybody hit everything"
Emotional Alex Bowman remembers his dog Finn after runner-up finish: 'I lost my best friend'
How Kimi Antonelli is proving unbeatable, even when he's beaten
How Norris unfurled a surprising - and "unrepeatable" - Spanish GP pole lap
Audi’s long road back to the top of grand prix racing
What we learned from Friday practice at the 2026 F1 Spanish GP
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments