Toto Wolff critical in Mercedes statement despite Lewis Hamilton joy at Japanese GP
Lewis Hamilton was smiling and gave a positive response to qualifying seventh for the Japanese Grand Prix, but boss Toto Wolff was not satisfied with that result.
Toto Wolff cautioned Lewis Hamilton that his qualifying position on the fourth row for the Japanese Grand Prix was subpar, despite Hamilton’s optimistic attitude.
In Saturday’s session, Hamilton ranked seventh, trailing over half a second behind Max Verstappen, who secured pole position for the Suzuka race. His teammate, George Russell, fared even worse, only managing to secure the ninth spot on the grid.
The seven-time Formula 1 champion expressed disappointment over the radio when he wondered how the distance between his car and the Red Bulls could be so significant. However, he had shifted to a completely different attitude when he exited his car and made his way to the media area.
During his interview with Sky Sports, he smiled and gave hope that Mercedes could solve their car issues.
He expressed that he had given his all and praised the team for their efforts in making adjustments to the setup.
It’s actually the first weekend I’ve not gone crazy with set-up and not tested a bunch of things, so a bit more normal. I think we got the car into a much nicer working window, so every lap has been more enjoyable to drive. The other guys are just a little bit faster. We were just over a second off the Red Bull last year and seven-tenths [this time] is better.
“With something different we could have been another tenth faster, maybe, but other than that, that was everything. What it’s given us is, I know exactly where the car is not strong enough. I can feel it in the car and I know now I’m able to tell them to push in a particular area. I’m hoping the race will be stronger and I’ve really enjoyed driving so far this weekend.”
However, he concluded with a more positive outlook by stating that they are not far from the second row, only about a tenth of a second behind, at a track that was considered one of the worst last year.
“We appear to have made progress with the car this weekend, moving in the right direction. Our team is working tirelessly to gain a better understanding of the W15 and how we can further develop the existing platform.
Witnessing this progress is indeed motivating.” Predicting the appearance of tomorrow’s race is challenging. The competition closely following Red Bull is intense, so our team will need to assess the situation.
Analysis of the long run data from both Friday and today’s qualifying session suggests that the race may be closely contested.
Our focus will be on optimizing our performance and utilizing our resources to achieve the best possible outcome.
