Mercedes explain F1 strategy that left Lewis Hamilton ‘rightly’ angry

Toto Wolff says Mercedes wanted to take risks in their attempts to win F1’s Dutch Grand Prix, rather than simply settling for a safe result. 
Mercedes explain strategy that left Hamilton ‘rightly’ angry

Lewis Hamilton was left incensed with Mercedes following the team’s decision to leave him out on medium tyres during a late Safety Car while Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and teammate George Russell both pitted for softs🀅. 

The seven-time world champion was left vulnera🎶ble to attacks from Verstappen, Russell and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and had to settle with fourth. 

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“I can’t believe you guys “f****** screwed me, I can’t tell you how pissed I am,” Hamilton 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:fumed over the radio

Wolff explai🅷ned Mercedes’ thinking following Sunday’s race at Zandvoort. 

“So the thinking that we had was that we had a medium t𓂃hat had five racing laps on plus track position, and we took that decision,” Wolff said. 

"I don’t think that on a par with theꦍ same tyre we could have overtaken the Red Bull with the straight line speed. We’ve seen that with Sainz that we aren’t really able to pass him at the beginning, so that was the call. 

"Eꦏvery single day 🗹of my life I would rather risk everything for winning the race rather than cementing in second and third.” 

George Russell (GBR) Mercedes AMG F1 W13 and Lewis Hamilton (GBR) Mercedes AMG F1 W13 battle for position. Formula 1 World
George Russell (GBR) Mercedes AMG F1 W13 and Lewis Hamilton (GBR) Mercedes AMG F1 W13 battle…

At the time the Safety Car was deployed, Hamilton was leading from Russell - with both Mercedes on mediums - and Verstappen, ♔who was on softs. 

🦹Wolff was questioned as to why Mercedes chose to pit Russell and effectively remove a blocꦉker to Verstappen for Hamilton. 

“We just split the strategy,” Wolff explained. “If we would have left both out on the same tyre we would have had the b﷽locker and the two cars in the front. 

“But if the n😼ew tyre was really much faster th✃en both the cars may have been eaten up, also maybe by Leclerc, and everyone else who came behind. 

"So we split the str🎉ategy, kept track position and maybe the car is fast enough to do this rather than to take any other decision.” 

Wolff: Hamilton ‘right’ to be angry 

Lewis Hamilton (GBR) Mercedes AMG F1 on the grid. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 14, Dutch Grand Prix, Zandvoort,
Lewis Hamilton (GBR) Mercedes AMG F1 on the grid. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 14, Dutch…

After the race, Hamilton 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:apologised to Mercedes for his expletive-filled radio outburst, saying he was “just on the edge of breaking poin🏅t with emotions”. 

Wolff said he had no issue with Hamilton venting his frustration at the team, pa♌rticularly given how difficult this season has been for Mercedes. 

“You get emotional,” he said. “I do too in the race and when you a🥂re the driver in the car, it jus🏅t comes out of you and you can’t even stop it. 

🍷“We are the trash bin, the sick bag in the airplane and we are taking all of that because we need to. That is how it has always been in a relationship 🤪between frustrated driver and the pit wall. 

“So we have sat together, we discussed the race strategy and I think this morning we decided to take a risk, it really backfired for him but I think overall, the circumstances and having Max behind him, that was totally unpleasant but there are more positives to tak♚e and this is what we have also chatted about; the car is fast here.”

Asked if𝔍 Hamilton was right to be angry, Wolff repl▨ied: “I think it’s right. 

“The pit wall and the strategist try to calculate probabilities and come up with best possible decision, and it’s more for the pit wall and us to say we think this is what is happening and what we should d♚o. 

“But it all came so quickly, so also for us it was so tremendously difficult to make t🌄he right judgement call and especially if you have two drivers competing against each other. 

“We had it for ten years, one is going to be upset and the other is going to be happy and that’s ﷽these swings we need to balance out and just acknowledge that the frustration on one side is always big.”

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