Mercedes to ‘go for broke’ at Abu Dhabi GP
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has instructed his team to gamble for victory at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and is keen to see Valtteri Bottas claim a first win of the season having missed out due to unfortunate circumstances earlier this year.
With both the Formula 1 drivers’ and constructors’ titles wrapped up, the 2018 finale at Yas Marina acts as a ‘nothing to lose’ event for the majority of the grid, including all front-runners, and Wolff wants Mercedes to toast its historic F1 campaign with an 11th victory of the year.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has instructed his team to gamble for victory at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and is keen to see Valtteri Bottas claim a first win of the season having missed out due to unfortunate circumstances earlier this year.
With both the Formula 1 drivers’ and constructors’ titles wrapped up, the 2018 finale at Yas Marina acts as a ‘nothing to lose’ event for the majority of the grid, including all front-runners, and Wolff wants Mercedes to toast its historic F1 campaign with an 11th victory of the year.
The Mercedes team principal is also eager for Bottas to clinch his first victory of 2018 having missed out on multiple occasions this year. The Finn had been leading the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in the closing stages when he suffered a tyre puncture, while he also suffered a hydraulics failure leading the Austrian Grand Prix.
Bottas endured a further painful defeat when he was denied victory while leading the Russian Grand Prix, having started from pole position, when team orders were implemented to prioritise Lewis Hamilton in his F1 drivers’ title bid.
“The championship pressure is off, so we can look at this as one race where we can really go for broke,” Wolff said. “Our Silver Arrow has won 10 races so far this season and we all want to add one more to that score - especially Valtteri, who has lost out on wins this season through bad luck and team orders.
“We know, too, that it will be a tough battle because both Red Bull and Ferrari will have the same target of taking good momentum into the winter.
“We have taken four wins in a row at Yas Marina, although it's a track with a lot of slow and medium speed corners. We've made some good steps forward when it comes to our car's performance on similar tracks, so we're confident that we can perform strongly in Abu Dhabi as well, and end this incredible 2018 season on a high.”
Despite dominating to a fifth consecutive double F1 drivers’ and constructors’ world championship, matching Ferrari’s feat set between 2000-2004, this season will mark Mercedes’ lowest total points tally of its title-winning years.
Even if Mercedes secure a 1-2 finish in Abu Dhabi, moving to 663, it will be five points short of its 2017 points total (668) in the teams’ standings.
