Lewis Hamilton says it makes no sense for Mercedes to ask Austrian Grand Prix polesitter Valtteri Bottas to back-up Sebastian Vettel during the race in an attempt to help him.
The Mercedes driver could only set the third-best time behind teammate Valtteri Bottas and Formula One title rival Sebastian Vettel in qualifying, but will drop to eighth after his five-place grid penalty is applied. Hamilton dismissed suggestions Bottas could back-up Vettel to help him progress up the order and admits he was simply off the pace when it mattered in the final segment of qualifying after being unable to hook-up a clean lap.