Hamilton considered giving lead back to Bottas

Lewis Hamilton says it “crossed his mind” to hand back the lead of the Russian Grand Prix to Mercedes Formula 1 teammate Valtteri Bottas in the closing stages.

Polesitter Bottas was instructed to allow Hamilton past at the half-way stage of Sunday’s Russian Grand Prix, enabling the Briton to take the win and further extend his advantage at the top of the drivers’ championship.

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff described using team orders as being the “harsh reality” for Bottas as the Finn was denied a victory he arguably deserved, while Hamilton admitted he felt uneasy about the situation.

“It crossed my mind and I was really thinking about it,” he told reporters when asked if he had considered letting Bottas back through before the end of the race.

“In the last 12 laps I was thinking ‘this feels so weird being in the lead’ and it just didn’t feel great. Budapest from last year was replying in my mind but I remember the team also saying the result we need this weekend.

“We need those 10 points, because if the car breaks down, or we lose two engines and we lose the championship by one or three points we would look back to this day and say we didn’t work as a team – which we are.

“That was their reasoning, as hard as it is to swallow.”

Following post-race celebrations that were noticeably subdued, Hamilton said the 70th grand prix win of his career ranks among those he is “least proud of” as he played tribute to Bottas.

“It’s honestly the strangest day I can remember having in the sport, in my career to be honest,” Hamilton explained.

“It’s very odd to feel down but you also have to feel grateful for all the guys working back in the factory to make a 1-2 like this possible. We have to embrace this. It’s definitely a win on my list of wins that I’m least proud of.

“There are stronger heads in the team who are like ‘we have to win’. It’s about winning both championships and they don’t care how, it doesn’t matter who is ahead.

“Ultimately it’s really important to acknowledge Valtteri,” he added. “He was just the ultimate gentleman. As racing drivers we exist to win, and if we don’t, it’s like you’ve taken our air away, taken our life away - it’s that deep.

“I would never wish it upon someone else and I would never ask for it from someone else ever. I made sure when we were in the meeting before with Toto and the guys I was like ‘this is not how I want to win’.

“But today he was an incredible gentleman and the team took the decision.”

Hamilton now leads Vettel in the title race by 50 points with just 125 left up for grabs in the final five races.