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Mercedes miles ahead in Austria where they have struggled in past | Giles Richards

Valtteri Bottas’s win suggests the champion constructors will be ominously strong again this season and F1 deserves credit for the biosphere system which saw a Covid clear raceValtteri Bottas’s win in Austria might have been nail-biting for the team, given they feared his car was very close to a shutdown because of a gearbox sensor problem, but from the weekend as a whole Mercedes emerged ominously strong. Their car is comfortably once more at the front of the field, with their form bearing the hallmarks of one of those relentless Metallica riffs that churns on and on and on. Half a second up in qualifying, nearest competitor Red Bull had to opt for an alternate tyre strategy just to give...

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Hamilton and Vettel whet appetite for 2018 but guns spell danger for Brazil GP | Giles Richards

The F1 world champion proved his hunger remains while Ferrari fought back but Valtteri Bottas, the quality of racing and the future of the Brazilian Grand Prix are a concernAfter making his only major error of the season with a crash in qualifying at the Brazilian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton said he wanted to redeem himself in the race. Finishing in fourth place after starting from the pit lane was better than he expected. It was a performance acknowledged by the Mercedes executive director, Toto Wolff, who said: “It was the best fourth place I’ve ever seen. If you consider starting from the pit lane and ending up 5.4 seconds behind the leader, it’s quite an astonishing drive.” In doing...

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Lewis Hamilton may have to give way if Mercedes employ team orders | Giles Richards

Lewis Hamilton may have to open the door for junior partner Valtteri Bottas if Mercedes decide to employ team orders some time soonLewis Hamilton might have thanked his team-mate Valtteri Bottas for being a “gentleman” during the Bahrain Grand Prix, in moving aside to allow the British driver through, but afterwards the look on the Finn’s face betrayed his real feelings. Having been ordered by Mercedes to concede second place to Hamilton, he was clearly not happy about it, yet it is highly unlikely to be the last time the team employ orders and both drivers may have to suck it up. Testing times leave little room for compromise and there is no mistaking that, for the first time since...

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