WE CAN’T STOP CRYING
Emotional Mercedes chief Wolff & Hamilton mourn Lauda as Monaco remembers
MERCEDES boss Toto Wolff is constantly on the verge of crying over the death of Niki Lauda – and claims Lewis Hamilton is in a similar mental state.
Hamilton has not spoken in depth about Lauda’s death after he withdrew from a press conference before Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix.
The five-time world champion delivered the fastest time in both practice sessions yesterday, with Mercedes once again dominating.
But their preparations for F1’s Monte Carlo showpiece have been clouded by the tragic death of the popular F1 figure.
The Austrian, who won three world titles and joined Mercedes as non-executive chairman in 2012, died on Monday night in Zurich. Yesterday, in an emotional press conference, team principal Wolff spoke publicly for the first time.
“The last 48 hours have been terrible,” said Wolff, who used to travel to races with his compatriot.
“I feel like a zombie. Every half an hour, I keep looking at pictures of him with tears in my eyes because he is not here any more. We knew that it wasn’t going well in the last days and it would be a matter of time before we received the message.
“I got a text from Niki’s wife Birgit on Monday evening and since then I have not been myself. It feels so surreal to be in a Formula One paddock with Niki not alive.
“Lewis and Niki are bound together by an additional link, and that is the one of being multiple world champions. Only very few have experienced that, to win over several years against the best.”
Another F1 great, Sir Jackie Stewart, has said it would be a fitting tribute to Lauda if Hamilton can conquer Monaco.
The three-time world champion admitted: “He doesn’t need to do it for Niki. He just needs to do the best he can. It would be a fitting tribute to win.”