Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas had an episode that focused primarily on him in the Netflix docu-series called Drive to Survive.
Bottas had claimed in this episode that sometimes things got so bad that he had contemplated even leaving the sport altogether. This appears to have left Mercedes boss Toto Wolff in a state of denial, as he has profusely denied the validity of this claim.
The episode focuses on the Russian Grand Prix and follows the movements of Bottas. As luck would have it, this was the race in which Bottas got the team order to allow Hamilton to pass through.
The Finnish driver claimed in the show that it had made him contemplate retirement. It is a natural emotional response given how much faith drivers have in their abilities as well as the toil and hard-work that it takes to get to the top level.
As things panned out, Hamilton never really needed the additional 7 points and comfortably added to his tally of world championships.
Wolff claimed that Bottas would never have realistically thought about retiring.
“Of course he was depressed. I can understand that. However, I don’t think he was close to retirement. He’s too competitive for that,” Wolff told Motorsport-total.com.
The Austrian, however, said that it was tough enough for him to make the call. He can only imagine how Bottas would have felt.
“I already hated it, so I can imagine how bad it must have been for him. Much worse,” he said.
Recently, Bottas claimed that he would never allow history to repeat itself and would demand a more aggressive approach from the crew.
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