I’m Going to Hate Doing it: Mercedes Boss

Mercedes team principal, Toto Wolff says he will implement team order again if necessary at the US Grand Prix.

Wolff was widely criticised by Formula One fans at the Russian Grand Prix because he told Valtteri Bottas to surrender his position at the front of the field to allow Hamilton to win the race.

Mercedes secured a one-two finish with Hamilton extending his World Championship lead over Sebastian Vettel.

The Brit can now claim his fifth world title this weekend by winning the US Grand Prix, so long as Vettel also finishes third or below.

And Wolff is prepared to tell Bottas to move over once again if the Finn finds himself ahead of his team-mate.

“We have been discussing that and I’ve been struggling so much with the decision,” said Wolff.

“Eventually, when it comes to the Sunday, I’ll probably go for the points even though I’ll hate it. But let’s see how Sunday goes.”

Hamilton was handed a further boost to his title hopes yesterday when Vettel was slapped with a three-place grid penalty.

The German went too quick during a red flag in practice and will definitely miss out on a place on the front row.

But Wolff was disappointed to see the Ferrari man not have a level chance to challenge Hamilton.

“It’s difficult because there was a decision that I thought was a bit harsh against Esteban [Ocon] last weekend [in Suzuka] and it sets a precedent,” said Wolff.

“For the Championship, obviously it’s not good if Sebastian would get a penalty, we’d rather have him there and put on a great show.”

Meanwhile, Hamilton is not getting too carried away ahead of what could be a memorable weekend.

“As a team, none of us are saying how cool it would be if it happened this weekend,” Hamilton said.

“We’re not focussing on ‘ifs’. We’re focusing on making sure that we deliver.

“There’s still 100 points available so you can just never be complacent in life and in the championship as intense as this.

“We expect Ferrari to punch back hard this weekend so we can’t be relaxed in any way, shape or form. We’ve got to make sure we come here and raise the bar again.”