Nico Rosberg: Mercedes gifted the race win to Valtteri Bottas

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16:08, 15 Oct 2019

Nico Rosberg believes that Mercedes gifted Valtteri Bottas the race win in Japan by bringing Lewis Hamilton in for an extra pit stop. The 2016 World Champion believes his former team did this to repay Bottas for all he has done for the Silver Arrows this season.

"They could do two things. They can tell Hamilton to let Bottas pass, but of course that doesn't look like it. Mercedes is world champion there, then it is not good for your image to give the victory within your own team as a gift," Rosberg said in a YouTube video.

"This was all they could do. They would make a loss anyway and since that title has already arrived, this was the best option. They may lose a 1-2, but they still have the confidence of Bottas. However, Hamilton was unhappy with this after the race, that may be clear."

Pos.	Driver	Team	Points
1	Kimi Antonelli Kimi Antonelli	MercedesMER	242
2	George Russell George Russell	MercedesMER	183
3	Lewis Hamilton Lewis Hamilton	FerrariFER	183
4	Lando Norris Lando Norris	McLarenMCL	159
5	Charles Leclerc Charles Leclerc	FerrariFER	155
6	Max Verstappen Max Verstappen	Red Bull RacingRBR	112
7	Oscar Piastri Oscar Piastri	McLarenMCL	104
8	Isack Hadjar Isack Hadjar	Red Bull RacingRBR	68
9	Liam Lawson Liam Lawson	Racing BullsRCB	49
10	Pierre Gasly Pierre Gasly	AlpineALP	44
11	Arvid Lindblad Arvid Lindblad	Racing BullsRCB	23
12	Franco Colapinto Franco Colapinto	AlpineALP	19
13	Oliver Bearman Oliver Bearman	HaasHAA	18
14	Gabriel Bortoleto Gabriel Bortoleto	AudiAUD	10
15	Nico Hulkenberg Nico Hulkenberg	AudiAUD	6
16	Carlos Sainz Carlos Sainz	WilliamsWIL	6
17	Alexander Albon Alexander Albon	WilliamsWIL	5
18	Esteban Ocon Esteban Ocon	HaasHAA	3
19	Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso	Aston MartinAST	3
20	Yuki Tsunoda Yuki Tsunoda	Racing BullsRCB	0
21	Lance Stroll Lance Stroll	Aston MartinAST	0
22	Valtteri Bottas Valtteri Bottas	CadillacCAD	0
23	Sergio Perez Sergio Perez	CadillacCAD	0

Nico Rosberg: Mercedes gifted the race win to Valtteri Bottas

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