Mercedes must avoid "exuberance and depression" over driver form
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says his team must work more to help maintain its drivers' confidence levels, rather than rush between "exuberance and depression" over small changes in form.
Wolff says that Valtteri Bottas’ difficulties at the end of the season highlighted the change of mindset that comes when a driver’s Formula 1 title ambitions have ended. It was a factor that he suggests was not always appreciated before.
After a difficult Sakhir GP weekend, where Bottas was overshadowed by stand-in George Russell, the Finn and Wolff had talks to discuss how best they could help support each other more.
One change made for the F1 season finale in Abu Dhabi was a request from Bottas for Wolff to be more encouraging on the team radio.
Wolff says that better dealing with the drivers’ mindset was something that should be done, and the team needed to shy away from putting too much emphasis on single weekend performances.
“What we need to look at, and what we need to work out collaboratively, is that for drivers, it's all about winning the world championship,” Wolff told Motorsport.com.
“And when that has been decided, we need to find out how to keep the energy levels high. But the margin between winning and losing, between hero and zero, is so small in this sport.
“If he [Bottas] would have led the way in Bahrain 2 [Sakhir GP] and won the race, nobody would have criticized Valtteri. And that was down to a good or less good start. He was also catching up in the race before our unfortunate pitstop incident.
“So we mustn't swing between exuberance and depression in terms of our judgement on drivers, but kind of see the average and help the drivers to have confidence, to develop their abilities and achieve sustainable performances.”
Wolff says that although Bottas found himself comprehensively outscored by Lewis Hamilton last year, finishing 124 points behind, the tally did not tell the true story of their form.
He cites the fact that Bottas lost a lot of points through punctures or events outside his control, like the red flag at the Tuscan Grand Prix.
"Valtteri has had highs, but more downs this year than he deserved,” added Wolff. “And the downs were not due to a lack of performance, the downs were simply unlucky.
“How many times has he been in the lead of a race that he would have probably won before a red flag was thrown? Or before he suffered from a tyre puncture? Multiple occasions.
“I think he could have had a handful more victories. And the championship could have stayed more open much, much longer.
“He performs on a very high level. There's no reason to question him if he has those fantastic weekends with top performances.”
Related video
Motorsport Images assists Ferrari with 1000th GP celebration book
Magnussen: Fighting for points at best in F1 "becomes old"
Why Norris doesn’t expect Mr Nice Guy praise for much longer
Earning praise from rivals has been a welcome sign that Lando Norris is becoming established among Formula 1's elite. But the McLaren driver is confident that his team's upward curve can put him in the mix to contend for titles in the future, when he's hoping the compliments will be replaced by being deemed an equal adversary
What Ferrari still needs to improve to return to F1 title contention
After a disastrous 2020 in which it slumped to sixth in the F1 constructors' standings, Ferrari has rebounded strongly and is on course to finish third - despite regulations that forced it to carryover much of its forgettable SF1000 machine. Yet while it can be pleased with its improvement, there are still steps it must make if 2022 is to yield a return to winning ways
How F1 teams and personnel react in pressurised situations
OPINION: The pressure is firmly on Red Bull and Mercedes as Formula 1 2021 embarks on its final double-header. How the respective teams deal with that will be a crucial factor in deciding the outcome of the drivers' and constructors' championships, as Motorsport.com's technical consultant and ex-McLaren F1 engineer Tim Wright explains.
How getting sacked from Benetton made Mercedes' Allison
He’s had a hand in world championship-winning Formula 1 cars for Benetton, Renault and Mercedes, and was also a cog in the Schumacher-Ferrari axis. Having recently ‘moved upstairs’ as Mercedes chief technical officer, James Allison tells Stuart Codling about his career path and why being axed by Benetton was one of the best things that ever happened to him.
The remarkable qualities that propelled Kubica’s F1 comeback
It’s easy to look at Robert Kubica’s second Formula 1 career and feel a sense of sadness that he didn’t reach the heights for which he seemed destined. But as Ben Anderson discovered, performance and results are almost meaningless in this context – something more fundamental and incredible happened…
The humbling changes Ricciardo made to deliver for McLaren
From being lapped by his own teammate in Monaco to winning at Monza, it’s been a tumultuous first season at McLaren for Daniel Ricciardo. But, as he tells STUART CODLING, there’s more to the story of his turnaround than having a lovely summer holiday during Formula 1's summer break...
The potential benefits of losing the F1 constructors' title
As the battle continues to rage over the F1 2021 drivers' championship, teams up and down the grid are turning their attentions to the prize money attributed to each position in the constructors' standings. But F1's sliding scale rules governing wind tunnel and CFD use will soften the blow for those who miss out on the top places
The invisible enemy that's made Hamilton's title charge tougher
After winning his past few Formula 1 titles as a canter, Lewis Hamilton currently trails Max Verstappen by eight points heading into the final double-header of 2021. Although Red Bull has been his biggest on-track challenge, Hamilton feels that he has just as much to grapple with away from the circuit