Fans think Bottas was robbed

Last week I wrote of the difficulties faced by young drivers in Formula One, where a position in a manufacturer’s driver development programme can actually become a problem in itself, as we have seen recently, particularly in the – as yet unresolved – situation surrounding Esteban Ocon.

But last weekend’s Russian Grand Prix raised another disturbing issue. During qualifying Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas took an excellent pole position ahead of his team-mate Lewis Hamilton and both Ferraris.

On Sunday Bottas held his position off the line and was able to lead the field comfortably until lap 26 when a cameraman caught the image of Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff’s finger poised over the “tactics” switch on his control panel.

Then we heard the radio call that told Bottas to allow Hamilton through at turn 13 and later be instructed to hold station to the finish.

The harsh reality of being Hamilton’s “wingman” certainly arrived last weekend, as far as most F1 fans are concerned.

Bottas, they believe, was robbed of his first victory this season and they have voiced their opinions on many websites.

Most compare it to that infamous Austrian Grand Prix in 2002 when raceleader Rubens Barrichello was ordered to move aside, allowing team-mate Michael Schumacher to take the win.

After a further incident at the US Grand Prix the FIA issued new rules against team orders if they would artificially affect the result.

The teams worked around this by using coded messages.

This regulation existed until 2010 until the World Motorsport Council issued a statement removing the rule.

So team orders are legitimate.

Sadly, with the vast sums of money poured into F1 by manufacturers, the sport is considered to be secondary to the prestige and financial rewards of victory.

This surely indicates that, despite being quicker than your more experienced team-mate, a young driver will always be expected to move aside when required.

Fair enough, but when the leading driver already has a 40-point advantage over his nearest rival with five more races left, was that call really necessary?

From the monetary side, probably, but from the sports point of view, definitely not. From now on I shall refer to F1 as motorracing, because motor sport is fast fading.

Wolff had an unenviable decision to make but with a board of directors supplying the funding, the team chief had little or no alternative.

As a racer himself, he must find it doubly hard to pull the plug on a certain victory for Bottas to ensure a fifth drivers’ title for Hamilton.