Mercedes' motorsport strategy director. James Vowles, says the gearbox issues faced in Austria became evident as early as first practice at the Red Bull Ring. Valtteri Bottas secured a lights-to-flag victory in Austria to get the Mercedes winning machine fired up again but it was far from a straightforward win in Spielberg. Bottas and Lewis Hamilton were both given repeated orders to stay off the kerbs because of a gearbox sensor issue and Vowles was forced to interject on team radio himself to reinforce that strong message. But as Mercedes cruised to 1-2 finishes in practice, under the surface the concerns over the gearbox were already there. 'Those [gearbox] issues were actually first...
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