Lewis Hamilton-Bottas swap was the right decision: Brawn

Former Ferrari boss, Ross Brawn, has defended the actions of Mercedes, where they issued team orders to swap around Lewis Hamilton and Bottas which gave the former a win.

“I reckon the German team’s decision was the right one,” Brawn said of Mercedes.”The primary aim for a team is to get the best possible result for both championships, and that’s what they did.”

“I have found myself in this situation many times in the past and personally, I always believed the collective interest of the team comes before that of an individual driver,” Brawn added.

Brawn has sympathy for Bottas, but has also praised Wolff for being honest about the situation.“It may not be easily accepted by the fans, nor look good for the sport, and that is where the team have to judge the circumstances and make their decision,” he said.

“I can understand Bottas’ frustration, as he had a great weekend, demonstrating how well the Sochi track suits him, but team-orders are part of the sport.”

“Also, it’s always better to apply them in a transparent manner, rather than trying to hide it, something we have seen sometimes in the past, which raised accusations of deception.”

Lewis Hamilton had a lot of sympathy for Bottas as well as he was seen consoling his teammate after the race and at the podium. He tried to give the winners’ trophy to Bottas but the Finn refused to accept it.

The Brit had also said that the track at Sochi was not built right and wanted it to be designed differently. He now holds a comfortable 50-point over nearest rival, Vettel, with just 5 races to go in the season.

However, it involved a small incident at the weekend where the two rivals almost came together during the race. Vettel was ahead of Lewis Hamilton and blocked off the Mercedes by seemingly moving twice.

The stewards deemed him not guilty of the offence and they later exchanged words, one accusing and the other defending himself.