Mika Hakkinen praises Bottas' role in Mercedes' Russian 1-2
F1 News
Two time F1 world champion Mika Hakkinen has praised Valtteri Bottas' teamwork during the Russian Grand Prix as he sacrificed his chances of victory to keep Charles Leclerc behind him, confirming the 1-2 for Mercedes, their first since the British Grand Prix.
Mercedes had looked second best all weekend, but took advantage of the virtual safety car when Sebastian Vettel's Ferrari broke down, leading to the Silver Arrows getting ahead of Leclerc.
Fellow Finn Hakkinen said in his Unibet column: "Valtteri’s job was to defend second place from Charles, who had made a second pit stop and moved back on to another set of softs. Valtteri did this perfectly. He is a good overtaker, but he is also excellent at stopping anyone coming past!
"Sochi is a track on which he has traditionally showed great performances, including winning there in 2017, so he did a perfect job in protecting Lewis and ultimately enabling a 1-2 result for Mercedes."