Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has admitted that he will discuss the prospect of using team orders in the Mexican Grand Prix with Sir Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas.
Bottas pipped Hamilton to pole position in Mexico, in a surprise front-row lockout for the Silver Arrows.
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And with the two Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez lining up in P3 and P4, respectively, Wolff has admitted that Mercedes may use team orders to give Hamilton the best possible chance of clawing back points from his Dutch Championship rival.
“A front-row lock-out feels really good as it was somehow unexpected, but it’s all about catching up on these valuable points. That’s clear,” said Wolff after qualifying.
“Most important is to stay ahead at the start, then from there it is easier to manage the race.”
Continuing, Wolff revealed that Mercedes hadn’t discussed team orders prior to qualifying, as they weren’t expecting to have the pace to be on pole in Mexico.
“No, we haven’t discussed it because we felt we were not in a position to consider it,” the Austrian explained.
“It was such a long shot, talking about the victory before qualifying but the situation is different now and we are going to address it as we always do at the strategy meeting.
“I’m a racer, and I feel such discussion [on team orders] is something that is always disappointing in a way but sometimes the circumstances oblige that.
“We will address it and discuss it first with Valtteri and Lewis because they are both involved in such discussions, and then we will see whether the race scenario obliges us to make any such call.”
Heading into the 2021 Mexican Grand Prix, Verstappen has a 12-point advantage over Hamilton at the summit of the Drivers’ Standings.
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