From his seat in the Mercedes garage, Toto Wolff observes the unfolding action.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff was far from pleased after Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying, feeling standards had not been met across the board.
The presence of light rain before and during Q1 created challenging circumstances at the Hungaroring circuit. The varying levels of grip posed difficulties for the drivers, and unfortunately, George Russell experienced a significant setback. After starting from pole position in the previous race at Silverstone, he faced elimination in Q1 in Hungary.
Toto Wolff criticises Mercedes ‘underperformance’
Lewis Hamilton would make it to Q3 and claimed P5 on the grid, but when asked by Sky F1 whether this at least made it an okay day at the office for Mercedes, Wolff was having none of it.
Wolff expressed his disappointment in the collective underperformance of everyone involved.
“It is unacceptable to lose a car in Q1. The driver and team combination should not allow this to happen.”
“We simply lacked the speed in the end, making it an incredibly disappointing day.”
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Russell sent out contradictory radio messages about his elimination, initially taking the blame upon himself, but later expressing frustration towards the team for underfuelling his car.
Even though Wolff attributed “70 per cent” of the blame to the team, he was also explicit in stating that Russell was not without fault.
Wolff commented, “In my opinion, he should have taken the opportunity to secure the first position during the first lap, just like Lewis did. However, it seems that he took it too lightly.”
“Additionally, we incorporated another lap into the mix, but it followed a distinct run plan. This plan involved alternating between fast and slow speeds, and he opted to complete three consecutive fast laps.”
However, in general, I believe that 70 percent of the blame lies with the team for failing to refuel for one additional lap.
Hamilton finished with a time of 1:15.827, which was six-tenths slower than Lando Norris’ impressive pole time of 1:15.227 in the McLaren. Mercedes team principal, Wolff, explained that they struggled to find the right balance for Hamilton’s tyre temperatures, resulting in a lack of grip for the eight-time Hungarian Grand Prix winner.
According to Wolff, “I believe the car might have been two-tenths slower, but we were dealing with fluctuating tire temperatures, making it difficult to strike a balance that would provide the driver with a grippy car.”
Max Verstappen of Red Bull is set to start from the third position, while Norris successfully led McLaren to secure the front-row lockout on the grid for the Hungarian Grand Prix.
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