Battered Mercedes vow to bounce back
“THIS one hurts us to the core: it was a disastrous result,” was the verdict of Mercedes motorsport chief Toto Wolff following Sunday’s Formula One German Grand Prix won by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
The experienced boss could hardly have been more damning of the race in which Mercedes, according to Britain’s Guardian newspaper “were left looking, by their own standards, amateurish,” as they celebrated their 125th year in racing.
F1 standings leader Lewis Hamilton, normally infallible in the wet, made a mistake to skid off the track while leading. And doing so close to the pit lane meant his team could not react quickly to make the necessary repairs.
Hamilton’s race then descended into chaos as the team made a series of bad calls and he himself made another error.
The Briton eventually finished 11th on the track but the disqualification of both Alfa Romeos bumped him into the points in ninth.
Astonishingly that meant after a race he said “fell apart” he extended his championship lead over teammate Valtteri Bottas to 41 points with less than half the season remaining.
While Hamilton came out cautioned but unharmed en route to a likely sixth world title, Bottas may feel the impact of this race for months, if not years to come.
Sitting fourth and likely to finish second behind Verstappen, he joined many others in sliding off and into the wall.
“It’s a shame because today was a good opportunity for me to make up some points to Lewis and it was my own fault that I ended up not getting any points at all in the end,” the Finn admitted.
Bottas is out of contract at the end of the year and Wolff will make a decision on his seat during the coming summer break after Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix.
Not challenging the magnificent Hamilton is in itself hardly a sacking offence – few on the grid can do so – but with the highly promising Esteban Ocon as a test driver, Wolff and Mercedes may feel they have an easy upgrade available.
Verstappen has now won two of the last three races, the same as Bottas overall this year, and the Dutchman is within 22 points of second place in the standings.
“It has been one of my most difficult races and it is great to come out on top,” he said. “For sure I enjoy driving in the wet but also you need a good car for that.
“You can find a bit of pace in yourself but today we had both things right and I’m very happy with the result.”
Mercedes, who had different livery on their car and at one point wore fancy dress of 1950s style to the track, will likely be glad they have an immediate chance to put things right this weekend at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
“It shows that you shouldn’t fool around with stuff, you should concentrate on the job,” Wolff said. “We’re not superstitious but we believe in karma. It’s a day to learn.”