Mercedes boss reveals what he told Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas before Australian GP

However, both drivers ignored the team principal and went for it anyway.

Bottas, who won the Grand Prix, ended up with the fastest lap.

F1 have introduced an additional incentive for drivers to compete until the end of the race.

The driver with the fastest lap will be awarded one extra point, the only requirement is that they finish the race in the top 10 places.

Mercedes ran a perfect race on Sunday, ending up with a 1-2 in the season opener as they attempt to win a sixth straight Constructors’ Championship.

Their point tally was added to by the fact that Bottas earned 26 points for his victory.

But Wolff admitted that wasn’t his plan, as he told Hamilton and Bottas not to go for fastest lap.

“In the morning meeting when we talked about strategy, I forbade them to go for the fastest lap if we were running first, second or third,” he said.

“They ignored me. All of them.

“I think it was a plot between the engineers and drivers, because the engineers were keen.

“I need to reconstruct the radio calls and how that happened.

“At the end I’m very happy. Collecting that extra point I think is good.

“It’s entertaining. It’s a great new part of the spectacle.

“I believe that it’s taking risks,” he added.

“Especially when you’re aiming for the big points, should you go for the fastest lap?

“But then maybe my reference point in keeping control of a car is my own driving and not the level of the Formula 1 drivers? I didn’t like it so much.”

source: express.co.uk