Formula 1: Mercedes’ use of team orders a sign of weakness?

Mercedes used team orders to take the Russian Grand Prix victory away from Valtteri Bottas and give it to Lewis Hamilton. What did this signify?

On lap 25 of the Russian Grand Prix, the 16th race of the 21-race Formula 1 season, race polesitter Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport was running in second place behind Aston Martin Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen, who still needed to make his pit stop. Driver standings leader Lewis Hamilton, also of Mercedes, was running in third.

It was at this point in time when Mercedes told Bottas to pull over and let Hamilton pass him, an effort clearly designed to assist the four-time Formula 1 champion in his championship battle against fellow four-time champion Sebastian Vettel of Scuderia Ferrari.

Mercedes told Bottas that Hamilton had a tire issue, effectively meaning that they did not want to run the risk of Vettel passing him.

While he was not happy about it, Bottas let Hamilton pass him. As the laps wound down and it became clear that Hamilton and Bottas would finish the race in first and second place, respectively, Bottas asked the team on the radio when he had Hamilton would swap positions back.

The answer? They wouldn’t.

Hamilton went on to win the 53-lap race around the 18-turn, 3.634-mile (5.848-kilometer) Sochi Autodrom road course in Sochi, Krasnodar Krai, Russia, while Bottas finished in second place despite the fact that he was clearly the faster driver and deserved to win.

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But put the debate about whether or not team orders belong in modern-day Formula 1 aside. What is notable in this particular instance is the fact that Mercedes’ use of team orders may demonstrate a weakness that not many people believed they had with Hamilton having such a comfortable lead over Vettel in the driver standings.

With six races remaining, Hamilton led the driver standings by 40 points over Vettel (281 to 241). Vettel admitted that his focus was on winning each of the season’s final six races. Otherwise, it would be extremely challenging for him to pass Hamilton in the standings.

Mercedes had the advantage over Ferrari throughout the entire weekend of the Russian Grand Prix. Aside of when Vettel came out of the pits ahead of Hamilton and stayed ahead of him for one lap, Hamilton ran ahead of Vettel throughout the entire race, and Vettel never really had much of a chance to finish ahead of him.

I have said it since Hamilton’s victory in the Italian Grand Prix, and the gap that he has built up on Vettel in the driver standings since then has backed me up: the championship is all but over. Barring a crazy turn of events, Hamilton will become a five-time champion this year. Vettel will not.

Apparently Mercedes do not have the same level of confidence in their driver — even though Hamilton makes it a point after every race win to thank them for believing in him.

Had they let Bottas win the with Hamilton in second place, Hamilton would lead the driver standings by 43 points instead of 50 points over Vettel with five races remaining. In other words, regardless, everything would need to go Vettel’s way for him to even have a chance to win this year’s championship with just five races remaining on the schedule.

But Mercedes opted to sacrifice their other driver’s first victory of the season for seven extra points for Hamilton, seven extra points that likely won’t mean a thing in the long run.

While taking a precaution such as this is rarely unnecessary, this precaution was the equivalent of running the football while up 43-0 in the fourth quarter to run the clock down in the final game of your star wide receiver’s NFL career and he needs one more reception to break the all-time receptions record.

In the eyes of nearly 100% of Formula 1 fans, even Lewis Hamilton fans, this precaution was 100% unnecessary.

But does the fact that Mercedes took it show that they believe it wasn’t unnecessary? If so, this would mean that they believe Vettel has what it takes to catch Hamilton. What weakness or weaknesses do they believe that they might have over the course of the season’s final five races that would make them think this?

Even Hamilton wasn’t thrilled with the fact that he won the race over Bottas. This says everything you (should) need to know. Why? Because had he seen those seven points as significant, he would have been thrilled to obtain them regardless of the fact that he had literally obtained them because he had been handed his teammate’s hard-earned victory by his team.

But while Vettel exits the Russian Grand Prix trailing Hamilton by 50 points in the driver standings as opposed to 43 points, he exits knowing that there is a possibility that Mercedes are willing to pull out all the stops to help Hamilton beat him, meaning that they potentially still believe that he can creep back up into the championship mix if everything goes his way.

With this in the back of his mind, perhaps Vettel can pick up some momentum as the season winds down. After all, at more tracks than not so far this season, Ferrari have had faster cars than Mercedes. Vettel has simply failed to capitalize on numerous opportunities. If he can change that, do Mercedes truly believe that he can beat Hamilton to his fifth career championship?

The next Formula 1 race is the Japanese Grand Prix, which is scheduled to take place at Suzuka Circuit on Sunday, October 7. It is set to be broadcast live on ESPN2 beginning at 1:10 a.m. ET. Will Sebastian Vettel take a chunk out of Lewis Hamilton’s lead in the driver standings in this race, the 17th race of the season, or will Hamilton continue to demonstrate the fact that this year’s championship is all but wrapped up?