P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Japanese GP showed why “Lewis always wanted to keep Valtteri” at Mercedes
In the Japanese Grand Prix, Russell and Hamilton had several close encounters, including Hamilton running Russell off the track at Spoon Curve. Mercedes used team orders towards the end of the race to get Hamilton ahead of Russell, with both drivers under threat from Carlos Sainz. Former team manager Peter Windsor believes this highlights the acrimony between the two drivers, and speculates on how it would be if they were competing for a championship in the future. Russell replaced Bottas at Mercedes in 2021, and while Bottas may not have consistently challenged Hamilton, he served as a solid number two driver. Windsor believes this incident is another example of why Hamilton wanted to keep Bottas as his teammate.
Source: Crash
