Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff explained the team's strategy behind Valtteri Bottas' power unit change in Sochi as an assessment period with an eye on 2022. After giving Bottas a fresh engine in Monza where he raced from the back of the grid to third place, Mercedes surprised the Formula 1 community by giving the Finn yet another fresh engine in the 2021 Russian Grand Prix, for reasons the team described as 'tactical'. Many thought that the motives behind this step were to put Bottas in the way Max Verstappen, who was starting from the back as well for a power unit change as well, to give Lewis Hamilton's title contender a tough time. Regardless of being true or not, that didn't work...
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