Toto Wolff has admitted Mercedes made a mistake by not telling Lewis Hamilton to attack on his exit lap in a bid to thwart Max Verstappen at the Monaco Grand Prix.
The seven-time world champion started from seventh on lap 51 to swap medium tires for hard tires, followed by Red Bull’s Verstappen – one place ahead of him – arriving on the next lap.
However, Hamilton expressed his frustration on the radio as he was not told to go harder straight out of the pits to potentially overtake the Dutchman and Mercedes team principal Wolff admitted they were in trouble. mistake.
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Lewis Hamilton says there are encouraging signs for Mercedes as improvements continue after a positive result in Monaco.
“First it was a communication problem between us on the pit wall,” Wolff said. “We were wrong, it should have been a ‘critical exit round’ trying to undercut.
“But then there was debate about whether an exit lap would be enough with the new tire, so the message he received was confusing at best, but probably wrong.
“It should have been a ‘critical lap.’ The worry in the background was that if we stretched the tire in one lap, what would happen later?
“But in summary, it wasn’t a good message for Lewis, and it’s a team sport.”
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George Russell says his race felt controlled in Monaco even with Max Verstappen putting on the pressure.
Hamilton and teammate George Russell finished the race in the positions they qualified in, fifth and seventh respectively, in what was an encouraging weekend for Mercedes.
However, Hamilton, who will move to Ferrari at the end of the 2024 Formula 1 season, expressed his displeasure after qualifying and said he didn’t believe he would be able to outqualify Russell at any point this year.
Wolff insisted Mercedes was not favoring one driver over the other this year, although he understood why Hamilton might have thought that at times during his final year with the Brackley-based team.
“We are trying to make the most of our relationship and maximize the results for this final season,” Wolff said. “Always, between the drivers and the teams it can sometimes be tense, because everyone wants to do their best.”
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Sky F1’s Ted Kravitz looks at all the big talking points from the Monaco Grand Prix.
“I think as a team we have demonstrated, even in the most tense competitions between teammates, that we always try to find the right balance and be transparent and fair.
“I can understand that as a driver you want the best from yourself and the team, and sometimes when it goes against you you can question yourself.
“But as a team we are 100% on a mission to provide both drivers with the best possible cars, strategies and support.”
Formula 1 leaves Europe for the last time before the summer holidays as the championship moves to Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix. Watch every session at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve from June 7-9 live on Sky Sports F1, with the Sunday race at 7 p.m. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month subscription – No contracts, cancel anytime
