Singing next door.
Who is that?
Lewis. Sometimes, he sings.
I think he's a better driver than singer.
You worried about having Netflix back in the garage?
No. I think people say that, when Netflix is around, things go bad,
but, you know, it's just…
Um, how do you say? It's just a bad coincidence.
Hamilton beats Bottas!
It's a Mercedes one-two again.
Having Lewis as my teammate, he's a multiple world champion,
one of the best ever.
It's pretty tough.
Mercedes, making it clear
they expect Valtteri to move out of Lewis's way.
It's a Mercedes one-two again. Bottas finishes second.
And the winner, Lewis Hamilton!
I should be always happy to be on the podium,
but if your teammate wins and you are second,
you feel like you lose.
I never in a million years thought I'd have as many titles as I have.
It's a hard thing to kind of grasp.
what you've, you know, what I've done, but it's, for sure, hard for Valtteri.
He wants to be world champion.
I know I've been second in the past,
but I want to prove that I'm not just a number two.
-Valtteri was such a sensational wingman. -Well, first of all, "wingman" hurts.
People say Valtteri is your number two driver.
-Would you say that? -Fuck you.
- Is that fair? - Fuck you.
They can't hear your question, right?
They might.
In Finland, it's a different mindset to many other countries.
Most of us, we're kind of bit of lone wolves.
Even though it's a team sport, you have a massive team behind,
in the car, you are there alone.
Finland is a pretty good contrast to the Formula 1 world.
There's no pressure.
The sauna is warm.
Oh yeah.
Balls out.
Aye, aye, aye.
This is peaceful.
Throwing water on the rocks, you relax straightaway.
Yeah.
How are you feeling about it?
Of course, performance is a big thing, but…
it's not only how good you are at driving.
But what can you do?
-That's just how it is. -That's just how it is.
I believe, my gut feeling is that things will end up going well.
Yeah.
Now I just need to step on the accelerator bloody well.
I hate to be second.
There's many couch commentators in the sport,
but I don't let it get to me.
I know what I'm still aiming for and what I'm capable of.
And Lewis knows how hungry I am for the wins and for my first title.
- We shall find out. - We shall find out.
- Enough Formula 1 stuff. - Yeah, definitely.
Let's just look at the swans.
It's the Russian Grand Prix,
and Sochi is Russia's most popular resort.
It's the country's unofficial summer capital.
It's glorious.
There's beaches, there's theme parks, roller coasters, all sorts.
Hello.
Thank you.
It's the only word I know.
It's gonna be a fascinating Russian Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton seeks to join Michael Schumacher
as a 91-times Grand Prix victor.
The all-time record is up for grabs in Sochi.
Valtteri, do you wanna do it, the four of us?
- No, be separate. - You want to be separate?
I don't want any disease from you.
I haven't got any diseases… that you can catch airborne.
- Are we doing it in here? - Lewis said let's do it in here.
Why is he not in here?
He wants to sit in his room and do it through there.
Can you see everything?
Nope. Just black.
- Now it's okay. - Yeah, let's get started.
Um, as you can tell, we have Netflix with us this weekend.
Uh, we'll try and offer pretty broad access.
We can talk about certain things,
but, obviously, the special systems we're gonna keep hidden away from them.
- Okay. - Yeah.
Lewis, yesterday it was announced
that you made the list of the 100 most influential people in Time magazine.
-Congratulations, by the way. -Cheers, man.
Lewis is a big, worldwide star compared to me.
Everyone knows the name Lewis Hamilton. Not as many people know Valtteri Bottas.
But I feel my strength against him is that I want the title more than him.
Call ended.
- Thank you, Valtteri. - Easy.
Not so exciting to follow. Yeah?
The two drivers actually are just so different.
It's not about schmoozing with each other. It's about having respect for each other.
- Your feet must be on fire. - They are pretty hot.
- Yeah. - I'm regretting the decision.
- But I am committed to the cause. - Of course.
Lewis is much more extroverted.
Are you comfortable?
Ish. Yeah.
It's okay. Cool.
And Valtteri is more to himself.
More like the typical Finnish character.
It's always been quite a strong track for me, so we definitely expect to win.
And having these diverse characters is a strength of the team,
as long as our objectives are the same.
Looking ahead to this weekend,
how excited are you about potentially equaling Michael Schumacher's record?
It's very, very surreal to think that I'm that close to Michael.
But it's not one of my favorite tracks, so it'll be a real challenge.
I don't know where we're gonna stand,
but we've got to work very hard to keep this guy behind.
We're doing a piece on your teammate.
He's about to break a big record in the Formula 1 world.
As a teammate, what is it that makes him so hard to race against?
First of all, for sure, I try to avoid him breaking that record yet.
Yeah. I just wanna beat him.
Thank you.
2.9.
There's a noticeable delay with the wheel going on.
What you wanna do is back it off a bit.
In the team, many people, even though they wouldn't admit it,
maybe unconsciously, they have number one and number two driver.
- That's fine. - Is it okay?
Sometimes, the team members, they had to question themselves,
"Are we giving equal treatment to Lewis and Valtteri?"
Bottas leads. Hamilton and Vettel, it's wheel to wheel!
At Sochi 2018, that was a pretty tough race.
Valtteri was in an impossible situation
where we had to make decisions that are uncomfortable.
Valtteri Bottas has just let Lewis Hamilton pass.
There's Toto Wolff pressing the button. Clearly his call.
They needed to put one car, in terms of the championship,
between Hamilton and Vettel,
and Bottas had to be the man.
I was gonna go faster next lap.
Let's discuss it afterwards. We'll explain.
Lewis Hamilton wins the Russian Grand Prix!
Yeah, that was tough. Tough to accept.
I understand how difficult it was for Valtteri.
He did a fantastic job today and deserved to win.
I was pretty angry.
Honestly, I was thinking, "Why do I do this?"
I was even thinking of quitting, of giving up.
Straight after the race, I said I would not do it again.
One more.
Do you think Valtteri can still be world champion?
I think Valtteri,
in his mind,
has no doubt that he can be.
But having Lewis as your teammate
is probably the hardest thing that you can have.
He could beat Michael Schumacher's 90-race win record.
Doesn't get any worse, I guess.
Do you get nervous on qualifying day?
No.
- I can't recommend the cycling here. - No?
- Did you go to the mountains? - Yeah, then I got arrested.
- Arrested? - Yes.
Apparently I entered a military area. So they stopped me, they kept my passport.
I got chased by a stray dog at one point.
Welcome to Russia.
Welcome, everybody.
We're here at the Olympic Park, host of the 2014 Winter Olympics.
And, for the first time this season, the fans are back!
There are 30,000 here today,
ready for some fast action on a 3.6 mile circuit.
We'll find out if it's gonna be a good weekend.
A critical part of every qualifying session is a front-row lockout.
Being able to start first and second on the grid protects the driver on pole.
At every other track on the calendar,
the best position to start is either first or second.
But I think actually, on this track,
to win the race, you want to start either first or third.
It's nearly one kilometer into the first corner.
If you are following a car, it's less air to push away,
so you go faster on the straight.
That's a huge advantage.
Qualifying is all about starting as high up the grid as you can.
Decided by those finite margins
of a hundredth, a tenth of a second.
Mercedes, now looking for an eighth consecutive front-row lockout.
We've got Valtteri behind four seconds.
The circuit's all clear ahead.
Let's go.
Lewis Hamilton starts his flying lap.
- Strat two. - Copy.
Valtteri Bottas, just about to start his.
Tactics, we're gonna push.
The rear end feels good.
Valtteri Bottas, giving it absolutely everything.
We're in a good position.
I went too deep. Had a bit of a lockup.
- You're slower than Lewis. - Copy.
- Push all the way to Turn 16. - Yep.
Just keep the pace up.
Push hard now.
Final corner.
Hamilton whips up a massive lap and goes P1.
Nice work. That's provisional pole.
This will be your last push.
Bottas across the line. Half a second away from Lewis Hamilton.
That's currently P2.
It's looking like a Mercedes one-two tomorrow.
It's not done yet though. Max Verstappen has to do his lap.
What's this? Bottas is giving Verstappen a massive tow.
This is going to give the Red Bull a huge advantage.
Let Verstappen go. Don't give him a tow.
Oh God!
Getting a tow essentially means that a car in front of you
is punching a hole in the air.
There's less wind resistance, which means that you can drive faster.
Verstappen behind. Don't give him a tow.
Giving a rival a tow is like giving them an extra 20 horsepower.
On this track, I know,
if you don't make pole, you need to start third.
To beat Lewis, I always race hard, fair,
but, sometimes, it's like, "Fuck it."
Verstappen has just flown past Bottas.
Verstappen's on the front row!
Yes!
That was a good lap.
Great job, Max. Good of Valtteri to give you a tow as well.
After Sochi 2018, I realized you have to take all your opportunities.
Look how he towed him.
I'm sorry.
We need to be more responsive next time. That's just something we need to work on.
Is that Valtteri Bottas thinking,
"Today's the day I'm gonna stop being a team member here,
and I'm gonna start putting myself first a little more often"?
That's Lewis, P1, Verstappen, yourself,
and Verstappen can thank you for the tow.
Lewis Hamilton on pole
on the weekend that he's aiming to equal Michael Schumacher's record.
But it isn't a Mercedes lockout on the front row.
Verstappen starts second. Valtteri Bottas starts third.
Mercedes have qualified so well this year.
And, all of a sudden, Max Verstappen is splitting the Mercedes
and starting on the front row.
It raised a lot of eyebrows up and down the paddock.
Did you see Verstappen, how he towed him?
That's not the reason he's in front of us.
The reason he's in front of us is we did a bad lap.
No, it's one of the reasons. We did a bad lap and we towed him.
Both things contributed to not being P2.
We are just trying to come as close to perfection as we can.
But sometimes the drivers' objectives are different to the objectives of the team.
I didn't quite understand
why the team would have been disappointed I was third.
Everyone knew third is better than second.
If I did it on purpose,
only I know.
But I would have not made it into this sport if I wasn't selfish at times.
- What happened? - I wish I knew.
I just didn't go quicker,
so maybe I was just playing games, wanting to start third.
It's a good place to start.
It will give me an advantage against Lewis.
I don't know why Valtteri didn't get great laps this afternoon.
Maybe it's tactical.
Don't know how or why he would do that, so, um, yeah.
It's so important to have the support of your teammate.
There was a period of time
the guy that has been my teammate has been my best friend.
But when you work your life to win and only one of you can win,
it brings a lot of friction.
♪ Champione, champione ♪
♪ Ole, ole, ole♪
To win a world championship, I dedicated my whole life to it.
For me, it makes it all the more sweeter that Lewis was the guy I managed to beat.
I've known Lewis since I'm 13 years old.
We were teammates in go-karting and best friends at the time.
I'm just gonna drive my hardest.
-Drive smooth and calm and collective. -I need to finish at the front.
Just be careful, then finally just give it everything. Full speed.
We were dreaming,
"Imagine if, one day, we can be in the leading Formula 1 team,
fighting for world championships."
Totally unrealistic.
Then, all of a sudden, it happened.
OK, Lewis, if you let Nico pass this lap.
- I'm not slowing down for Nico. - Why is he not letting me through?
He's had the message, Nico.
It's unique in sport that your teammate is your biggest opponent.
With Lewis, it just went too far.
Nico hit me.
Nico's hit me.
This is an absolutely unacceptable race for us.
I agree. That is unacceptable.
It's probably best I go now.
As team principal, it was almost impossible
to manage the animosity.
We, as a team, cannot let it happen again.
Psychology plays a big, big role in sports. It's huge.
Everybody has self-doubt. Lewis has self-doubt as well.
You need to amplify that. You can force him into mistakes.
He's already left?
- We do the longest days. - We do the longest days!
-We're always last to leave. -That's why we're number one.
Tomorrow's gonna be hard.
Mm-hmm.
It's been a real challenge to raise my level each year
and deliver without making mistakes.
In that battle you have with your mind, you've got to stay calm, stay in the zone.
- Shoot, man, we haven't skydived for ages. - Oh God, we have to do it.
- I'd like to do bobsleigh. - Bobsleigh's hardcore.
-You should do skeleton. -Hell no!
-Where you lay on the thing and go down? -Head first.
No fucking way.
You're nuts.
-It looks like so much fun. -It does not look fun at all.
- The Mercedes team is hardworking. - Pushing.
Yeah, pushing.
-See you tomorrow. -See you tomorrow. Bye. One of ours.
Lewis equaling Michael's record with 91 wins
is the main focus that we have now.
It's not great pictures.
Undermines my authority.
But this weekend, it's also important for Valtteri to make up some points
for his chance to win the championship.
So you never know what to expect.
That's the race director, by the way.
He's the one everybody complains to.
Exactly. Including you.
Wait tomorrow.
I'll be on the intercom with you.
- Is Sochi for your liking? - Yeah.
Good vodka.
Russian karaoke.
We did it once.
-Nearly missed the flight the next day. -Yeah. It was 2015.
Good old days.
Anything that I can get for you?
- No, thanks. - Perfect.
- Enjoy your breakfast. - Thank you.
Did you get a bit happy last night on social?
Yeah, so I saw this comment...
What did he comment?
He was basically saying something negative.
"Lewis will still beat you," "You're still shit," basically that.
Yeah. Then I just said, "If I had your mentality,
I would have given up many times."
The evening before the race, a comment on social media went under my skin.
People forget that people have feelings and are real people.
Yes.
But turning anger into motivation and will to win,
that's very healthy, if you can control that.
If I listened too much to criticism, that would be a killer.
There's a Finnish saying.
The translation is…
"Dogs are barking, but the train keeps going."
It is the seventh Russian Grand Prix.
It is absolutely roasting here.
Track temperature's gonna be over 40 degrees.
Today, Lewis Hamilton is chasing win number 91.
To equal Michael Schumacher's record.
I hope we can prevent him from matching the record
until at least the next race.
Radio check, Max.
- Yeah. Radio check. - Straight through the pit lane.
Are you good at wheel guns?
I should have a go. I can't be worse than a team principal.
- Radio check. - Radio's loud and clear.
Okay, Lewis. It'll be a practice start from the pit lane.
There is a designated area to do a practice start
at the end of the pit lane.
Everybody that goes onto the grid can do a practice start,
but it has to be in that block.
There's all rubber here. Can I go further out?
Um…
Leave enough room for cars to pass.
What is this?
To the end of the pit wall?
Yeah, copy.
Seems an odd thing to do on the pit wall, no?
I understand the rules.
And I'm always looking to maximize every opportunity,
plain and simple.
He's gone a long way out. That's too far out of the pit lane.
I'm not entirely sure why
the team okayed for Lewis to go down there and do it.
The stewards will not be happy with that.
What Lewis Hamilton did put others at risk.
If he'd launched himself out when people were already coming out of the pit lane,
there could've been a massive crash.
Okay. We can go to the grid now.
Lewis wanted to maximize the practice start before the race,
so he could nail it on the race start itself.
So cool the car.
He knows that sometimes the pole can be less of an advantage.
And maybe
it played games in Lewis's head.
All okay with the engine.
Everyone makes mistakes in this sport. Even the best.
Even Lewis.
We're just hearing that Lewis is under investigation
for doing a practice start outside of the designated area.
He's being investigated.
This could have big implications
for his race this afternoon.
Hamilton stopped on the track.
- Did he? - Yeah.
I think he stopped on the track and made a practice start.
Surely they can't penalize you in a race for something that happened earlier?
-That's got to just be a fine. -Yeah.
I like this national anthem. It reminds me of Rocky against Ivan Drago.
Valtteri needs a great start from P3 if he wants to win.
He needs to be ahead of Hamilton going into Turn 2.
Everyone's expecting Lewis to win, but everyone cracks. Also, Lewis.
I need to keep putting the pressure on him. I need to keep him on his toes.
Now I'm getting close to Michael Schumacher.
It's very, very surreal.
Could it be the day
Lewis Hamilton equals Michael Schumacher's record?
You've got to be able to block it all out and focus on the one goal.
To win the race. It's intense.
Fifteen seconds.
And it's Hamilton in the lead!
Bottas is going round the outside of Hamilton!
Oh, but he's run wide!
Hamilton gets back in front. Bottas in second.
Carlos Sainz is in the wall. That's a big crash.
Lance Stroll is out of the race and into the barriers,
They'll need a safety car on the opening lap of the Grand Prix.
Are you okay?
- Is everyone okay? - All okay. Just a lot of debris.
Bottas went with huge aggression
into the first corner, taking it to Hamilton,
making him feel uncomfortable, like Rosberg did in 2016.
But Lewis still managed to hold it beautifully.
So lights are out. You control the pace.
Very poor grip there.
A lot can happen with Hamilton.
He's still under investigation for that practice start.
- What is it? - Look.
Oh God.
There is a ten-second time penalty
for the race leader, Lewis Hamilton, for practice start violations.
Fuck! Is Lewis aware?
Tell him. Tell him.
Lewis, we have a ten-second time penalty
for the practice start infringements.
What happened?
Sorry, the practice start,
going to the grid, got a ten-second penalty.
- Where's that in the rule book? - Copy, Lewis.
Yeah, that's bullshit.
Yeah, it's… It's shit.
So Lewis ahead has a ten-second penalty
- Start closing up the gap to Lewis. - Copy.
Bottas has got a second chance to win the Grand Prix.
Simon, talk to me about vibration.
- It's still growing steadily lap on lap. - I'm gonna call Lewis.
We need to get him in as soon as we can.
Stand by, red. Tires off.
Box, box. Box, box.
The Mercedes garage are getting ready for Hamilton's pit stop.
Tires are still okay.
Do not stop me early. Do not.
- OK, copy, Lewis. - Stand down, gents. Stand down.
Hamilton doesn't want to come in.
Tell him, "Attack all you can."
Lewis, let's give it everything.
Hamilton does not pit and he's still got great pace.
A full second quicker than his last flying lap. He's on the march.
Six tenths quicker than Bottas. Over a second quicker than Verstappen.
Lewis, that's the fastest lap. You need to maintain this pace.
- Safety critical vibrations. - We have to stop Lewis this lap.
Blankets off in the pit lane now.
Sorry, Lewis, you need to box. Box, box.
Into the pits comes Lewis Hamilton.
This will be a ten-second wait,
which will feel like it's forever for him.
Why did we have to serve it? Why isn't it added at the end of the race?
Yeah, Lewis, we have to serve it. Just focus.
Lewis is serving his ten-second penalty. Now show us your pace.
Copy.
Hamilton is gonna come out of the pits in the middle of the pack.
This is just ridiculous.
How far have I dropped back?
Currently down to P11.
That record-equaling 91st win
will take a lot of effort from Hamilton if he's gonna achieve it.
He's coming out behind Sebastian Vettel.
- Where's Lewis? - Lewis, currently P11.
This is now critical for the race.
What can Valtteri Bottas do now that he's got a clear track in front of him?
Good job. This pace is very good.
The penalty for Lewis, it's welcome.
It only helps me.
And I decided that there's no way I'm gonna give up this win.
If Valtteri doesn't win now… This is on a plate for Bottas.
- Why did you stop me so early? - We'll have that chat later.
We have Vettel ahead. Let's get on with it.
Hamilton, 0.4 behind.
An overtake is available.
Hamilton taking the position from Vettel.
All cars ahead are yet to stop, so you are P3 on the road virtually.
Kvyat coming into the pit.
Okay, Lewis, so now P3.
Verstappen, eight seconds ahead.
The man on a mission is Lewis Hamilton.
It's all about hunting down Verstappen.
How's the drivability, Max?
I'm trying, but it's not very easy to drive at the moment.
I've started to feel the left a little bit as well now.
Verstappen, pace dropping.
He's complaining about tires on radio.
Tell him, "You can do this." Just this one sentence.
Hamilton gaining on Max Verstappen.
How far is he behind?
Gap to Hamilton, six seconds.
Bottas is cruising. Miles quicker than anyone else.
- That's the fastest lap. - Yeah.
Valtteri now has fastest lap.
I don't want to hear from you now, Bono. It doesn't make any difference.
There will be another podium for Lewis Hamilton,
but it will not be that 91st win.
Valtteri Bottas through the final couple of corners.
Valtteri is two corners away.
Let's show our appreciation to a fantastic drive from him.
Bottas takes victory, winning the Russian Grand Prix.
Yes!
Fuck yeah!
Yes, mate! Get in there!
Win number nine in Formula 1 for Valtteri Bottas,
who hits back in the drivers' championship.
I think, again, it's a nice moment to thank my critics.
To whom it may concern, fuck you.
Max Verstappen finishes second for Red Bull,
and another super drive from him.
Cracking job, Max.
We split the two cars again.
Well done, Max. That was a great job.
Lewis Hamilton comes home on a day he will not choose to remember.
His chances to match Schumacher's record
undone before the five red lights even went out.
- Lewis is not happy, is he? - No.
- Good decision. - The right decision, 100%.
For sure, he will do something again. He believes he can do whatever he wants.
Were you not aware of that regulation?
I've done it at a million tracks, never been questioned on it.
They're trying to stop me, aren't they? So it is what it is.
I mean, that penalty was very drastic, very radical,
very over-the-top.
This is ridiculous.
Ron and I are going to the stewards. Just to make a point. We owe it to Lewis.
I don't want to just accept this.
I've had a target on my back, since I started racing.
You know, I was that kid that everyone wanted to beat.
And they couldn't beat me, so they would find other ways to beat me.
It was extremely dangerous to do that.
It's not the first time somebody did a race start
from a place that was different to the other ones.
It was not an easy decision, honestly.
Toto, we do not look at who he is.
We look at the regulations and we apply…
OK, gentlemen.
Stubborn. It is just talking against a wall.
Now, please welcome the third-placed driver today,
Lewis Hamilton!
Most important is that we defend Lewis. That's why, in that case,
podium is less important than seeing the stewards immediately
and making our argument.
And I think Valtteri himself doesn't care whether he's being given credit or not.
Valtteri Bottas of Finland!
Beating Lewis, you know, it is so satisfying.
Everyone was expecting Lewis to match Michael in the race wins,
but I want to delay that process as far as possible.
- See you, Toto. - See ya.
- Happy? - Yeah, happy.
We need to be happy for a one and three. It's not a compete misery.
See ya.
We'll do the team victory in ten minutes, okay?
Feels good.
- Yeah. - It feels good.
Look at this. The engineers are gone, so…
Every single driver would do anything to get into my seat.
But it's not easy sometimes, or most of the time,
when you are against Lewis.
It takes a lot of energy.
Traditions.
There's a reason why Lewis is in this team, but,
you know, there must be also a reason why I am in this team.
I hate to be second.
I'm not just the number two.
The car is so hard to drive.
Oh, big one!
They had an unfair advantage that the FIA took away.
We are in this position because we deserve to be.
I guess he was pissed off.
That Racing Point, an awful lot of pace.
Racing Point, I don't understand.
Our competitors simply didn't do a good enough job.
You always think about your future. I want to do the maximum.
I don't want to have any regret.
Fuck, fuck, fuck! Is he okay?