SPIELBERG, Austria -- Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has confirmed his drivers are free to race at Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix after Valtteri Bottas took pole position ahead of championship leader Lewis Hamilton.
A series of unlucky incidents earlier in the season have cut Bottas 53 points adrift of Hamilton in the drivers' championship, but he took pole position ahead of his teammate on Saturday at the Red Bull Ring.
A grid penalty dropped Hamilton's closest title rival, Sebastian Vettel, to sixth on the grid, creating an opportunity for Mercedes to hammer home Hamilton's advantage with a win on Sunday.