Hamilton just won we over- what a gesture in Hungary

IMO you (and others) are making too much of this. Bottas let him through, first. It doesn't make him a gentleman or anything like that, it was simply the fulfilling of an agreement. As slow as Bottas was, Hungary is not an easy place to overtake and he could probably have kept Hamilton at bay if not till the end of the race, then for enough laps to make it hard for him to reach the Ferraris.

I suppose you could say that it is surprising he abided by the agreement. Then again he can't just leave it at that - he has to go and whine about it anyway:
Hamilton hopes giving Bottas third doesn't cost him 2017 F1 title - F1 - Autosport

 

If Lewis refused letting Bottas past I think he would have lost more than 3 points: he would have made an enemy (Bottas) whose Support he might need later in the season maybe giving him more than just 3 points and he would have forced a reaction out of Toto to keep his face. I doubt it was only due to sportsmanship as he did not care about that in previous years with Nico. So today was OK but not the heroic honorable thing the Mercedes PR wants to make us believe.

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Hamilton did as he was supposed to.

 

Bottas was very trusting. Rosberg would never have taken that deal.

 

Let's not make too much of it, for once in 10 years, elton honoured an agreement, that's all. In the background, he needs to make sure he has that in the bag so he can demand places in the future from bottles if he needs them, that's all. Good to see it today though, but I bet it's a one off and it's true meaning is a selfish one to tie in 'u owe me' for later, maybe a win instead of second, worth much more than 3 points

 

Ham has a really different mindset this season. He is not as selfish as he was in previous seasons. It is as if somebody lobotomized him, or put a genital cuff on him. Perhaps Toto or Niki had a come to Jesus talk with him in the off season, and it sunk in?

 

BOT is coming to the end of his one year contract.. This will work for him in the negotiations.

I'm less impressed that HAM did what he did, than I am that he did it without whining....

 

Yep.

Rosberg and Hamilton never got along. I think Hamilton was involved in the Bottas selection.

Hamilton did the logical thing. He might have been biting his lip in giving the position back but he would have been a heel with the team if he didn't.

I still believe Merc is 100% sure they will win the constructors championship. Switching these 2 driver's positions means nothing.

 

He did whine, though.

Hamilton hopes giving Bottas third doesn't cost him 2017 F1 title - F1 - Autosport

"Hopefully the way I drove today, and how I behaved at the end, shows that I am a team player and a man of my word," Hamilton told TV crews after the race.

"Slowing down seven seconds was tough and I was nervous about losing a place to Verstappen but fortunately I didn't.

"It's tough in the championship but I'm a man of my word.

"I hope we don't lose the world championship by anything more than three points."

 

He had to give the spot back. To do anything else would simply cement his reputation as a jackass.

 

What a gesture? Yeah, right! Giving the position back was what he promised. And should have done it 5 laps later, not 15+, hoping Bottas was overtaken by Verstappen. And still, you could tell he regretted doing it. He couldn't even pretend he did it for the right reasons. And for the publicity as well. Sorry, no way this changes my perception of the diva. Having given the position back changes nothing. If he hadn't done it, then it'd be a royal *****.

 

Rosberg did let pass Lewis last year in Monaco...but as Lewis won he never had to give it back...
I do not understand why everybody praises Lewis for that but none mentions Bottas...He had much moore to loose! If Lewis would have caught Kimi of Seb for once and all the No.2 status of Bottas would been a given. And Bottas is still in the fight for the WDC and I guess loosing points to Lewis would harm him more than loosing them to Seb, because in case the Mercedes is better for the second half of the year he could make up points against the Ferrari but he needs to get home in front of Lewis every time it is possible to get a WDC!
I remember a few years ago (was it Hungary as well?) when Lewis was asked to do the same favour for Nico who was on different tyres and still had a shot on the victory after a safety car and Lewis refused because he was racing against Nico in the WDC? Bottas could have done the same but did not. If Toto is not lying about equal rights then Bottas should have got away with keeping Lewis behind him but he did not....

 

I agree with you Pete, what he did, on the day, was a nice gesture, but it won't be the norm, and I doubt very much that it wasn't done purely so that he can use it to make bottles go along with him at a more important race, such as where bottas is winning and he wants the win instead of second etc.

I think bottas needs equal praise for letting him go, and trusting him to give the place back. I suspect he knew however that if he couldn't get past Kimi himself, and elton needed a pit stop penalty to clear mad max earlier, then giving elton a shot was unlikely to result in elton going past either ferrari due to the nature of the track, so worst case scenario he saw it as losing one place, best case he ends up the same place as before.

Elton will be back to his selfish base immediately, don't kid yourselves people, but for once he did a nice thing today... I think he has been told by toto and niki that with bottles driving well and showing just as much pace as him, that within the team there is a movement to usurp the bias towards him, and the odd concession like yesterday will take a little pressure out of it

 

louis forgets he never have the 3rd place, so he didnt lose 3 points as he never have it anyway

being done by RB so many times in the past nobody say anything, its hamilton and suddenly he is the best in everything

ewwwwww

 

I was surprised he did it, but some are making too much of this: He never had 3rd place before it, it was that Bottas moved over first so that Hamilton got a go.

If he never gave the place back I'm sure he'll regret it later in the season when it's for another place...imagine if Bottas is still in the running for the title (only just) with 2-3 races to go, and Hamilton needs to be let through in order to lets say make sure Vettel can't win the title. If Hamilton didn't let Bottas through yesterday he'd remember that all too well...

 

+1

So this seems to be the latest tactic from MB, do not let your drivers fight it out to overtake and risk taking each other out ..rather do it through orchestrated switches.

I really dont like to see that ,if Lewis cant get past then tough,he obviously just sat there until they moved Bottas over,this is not racing its more like chess.Bottas plays along as they are holding a gun to his head over his contract for 2018.but he is allowed to win from the front so far.

For Ferrari its a different scenario Vettel will not ever be passed by Kimi other than by out starting him off the grid ,unless he breaks down whatever.So Kimi is powerless to even try to pass Vettel.As they are holding a gun to his head over his contract 2018.He will not be allowed to win from the front unless Vettel is out of the race or too far behind to switch..

Ii understand all the talk about being a Team etc etc ,but at the end of the day if these guys are not alllowed to race,then it is no longer a race in my book.

 

I'm not a Lewis or Mercedes fan. I bought a MB to kick it every time a MB wins

I still think it was a grand gesture by Lewis (and Bottas too). I'm sure some driver's would later not give the place back and argue the toss for the decision.

Same goes for Kimi, he probably could have passed Seb.
Proper team effort by both MB and Ferrari.

 

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/hamilton-bottas-hungary-podium-title-936613/

I actually do not understand why it is called a "gesture from Lewis"??? It was a gesture from Bottas giving Lewis a chance to win but here it sounds like Lewis did Bottas a favour...Why?

And "It's tough in the championship but I'm a man of my word. I hope we don't lose the world championship by anything more than three points." I guess he meant "not anything less than three points"

 

JULY 31, 2017

Horner questions Mercedes team order decision



Mercedes has admitted a team decision in Hungary may cost Lewis Hamilton the world championship.

During the Hungaroring race, Valtteri Bottas let Hamilton past in order to give the Briton a chance to attack the Ferraris and reduce his 1 point championship deficit to Sebastian Vettel.

But Hamilton could not pass the Ferraris, so the place was handed back to his Finnish teammate in a move that cost him a further 3 points.

Hamilton's deficit to Vettel is now 14 points as F1 heads into its August break.

"It (the decision) cost us three points and could cost us the championship and we are perfectly conscious of that," said team boss Toto Wolff.

"But in terms of how the drivers and this team operates, we stick to what we say and if the consequences are as much as losing the championship, then we will take it," he added.

Hamilton reluctantly backed that philosophy of full driver equality.

"If I lose the world championship I don't know what I would say then, but I want to win it the right way," he said.

Christian Horner, the boss at Red Bull, admitted he isn't sure if Mercedes' approach to winning the world championship is right.

"We did the same in Monaco two years ago," he said.

"But when you're talking about the title, everything changes a little. Looking at Mercedes, the leader of the team is Hamilton, and at some point you have to choose who to bet on."

However, Mercedes team chairman Niki Lauda said the German marque has always been open about its policy of not imposing 'team orders'.

"We have always said that both drivers can race freely, there are no team orders, and that's absolutely right," he said.

 

LH was never going to pass Bottas cleanly or safely. The team set up a pass and agreement. Contract executed. LH failed to pass Kimi. Swap redone. Moving on....

 

Yep.

Those 3 points are a good "investment".

 

Definitely this.
Bottas let Ham pass him on the claim that he (Ham) might be able to challenge the Ferraris; and Hamilton was given a lot of laps to try - and he did not succeed.
On this track if Bottas decided to keep his place there is no way Hamilton would have overtaken him (even if he was faster), so Hamilton did not make any favour to Bottas; the reality is that he failed to take advantage of the favour Bottas made to him.
Not giving back the place would have ruined the relationship between the two, and for good reasons; and Hamilton may need Bottas favours again in the future.

 

Hamilton's body language and demeanour in the post race interviews didn't strike Me as being those of a man who felt happy to have done the right thing.

I got the impression that he was seriously disappointed to have had to drop the three points, and I too suspect he was hoping that Verstappen would overtake Bottas so he wouldn't have to give the place back.

Of course, towards the end of the season he might need a big favour from Bottas, so keeping his word in Hungary may pay dividends later.



One thing is definitely for sure: If Lewis Hamilton loses this years WDC by 2 points to Seb, I will p:censored:ss Myself laughing about how keeping his word has cost him!

 

LH might need to help Bottas as well. This is a 2 way effort for the team. We keep being obsessed with LH and the title but Bottas is not even close to being out of the running. In fact without his DNF he is very very close to LH and pace wise there is little between them.