“The only thing that was good today was George’s driving. We have to look at everything else.” This is the first conclusion from Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff on the Hungarian Grand Prix, the eleventh race of the 2023 Formula 1 season. And from these statements on “Sky” it can be seen that Wolff was not satisfied with Lewis Hamilton’s fourth place.
Wolff comes back to the seven-time Formula 1 world champion and his performance, and criticism of Hamilton resonates when Wolff says: “I think we lost a podium.”
Because Hamilton had started the race from pole position, but had already lost P1 to Max Verstappen in the Red Bull before turn 1. At the end of turn 1, Oscar Piastri was first passed by a McLaren driver, and then in turn 2, Lando Norris, the other. Hamilton was only fourth after just two corners on the first lap of the race.
Ralf Schumacher puts Hamilton’s starting phase into perspective
Former Formula 1 winner Ralf Schumacher, however, puts Hamilton’s loss of space on ‘Sky’ into perspective and says: “Such a starting procedure can go wrong. You orientate yourself backwards and then everything is already too late and you are only a passenger and can no longer do anything. “
Mercedes must “look at it,” says Wolff, after all, the first lap cost a better result. Even more: “With yesterday’s qualifying [haben wir] maybe two podiums [verloren]”, said the Mercedes team boss. Because George Russell did not get past P18 on Formula 1 Saturday in Hungary and finished the race in P6, almost 27 seconds behind Hamilton.
Strategically, however, Mercedes does not have to blame itself for anything in the race. Hamilton’s tire tactics with medium-hard-medium were “good”, says Wolff. The long second stint on Hard also worked “because that created the offset” that allowed Hamilton to attack again later in the race.
That’s why Wolff says: “He can’t blame the Mercedes strategists for the race performance”. Nevertheless, he does not seem satisfied when he says: “I think we had the second fastest car. In fact, only Max [Verstappen] more quickly. But we just didn’t use the potential.”
Mercedes speculates on a safety car phase, but it doesn’t come
A late safety car phase, on the other hand, could have brought Hamilton’s race to a better conclusion. That’s another reason why the second stint was extended to Hard, says Wolff.
“You’re hoping for a safety car and of course you’re also creating a tire offset at the end where you can go a lot faster,” he explains. But that doesn’t change the fact that Mercedes “simply lost too much in the first few laps” with Hamilton.
This is another reason why Mercedes is only the third most successful team after Red Bull and McLaren from Hungary. But that’s only half the truth, emphasizes Wolff: “The result doesn’t show it at all, but the pace in the car against the rest of the world is okay.”
“We have expanded that and are also second in the world championship, we have also made a leap forward in the drivers’ standings with both drivers. But the gap to Verstappen is of course gigantic. There is no point in going for second best if the first is just so far away.”