Valtteri Bottas has been tasked with helping Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton by holding up championship leader Max Verstappen in Sunday’s Russian Grand Prix after being relegated to 17th spot on the grid having made a strategic engine change before the race.
A Mercedes spokesperson confirmed the decision to switch up Bottas’ power unit was a tactical one, made after Red Bull’s Verstappen performed a similar change.
Verstappen starts in 20th place, the backmarker on the grid, after taking on a fourth Honda power unit.