Mercedes had a good start to its Chinese GP weekend with Lewis Hamilton qualifying in P2 for the Sprint race. Despite this, team principal Toto Wolff isn’t particularly happy with the overall outcome, and expressed his anger towards the Silver Arrows strategists.
Hamilton finished P2 but George Russell, his teammate couldn’t get into SQ3 and started the Sprint race from P11. In a conversation with Auto Motor Und Sport, Wolff admitted that he was upset.
“Today it was all about the correct tire preparation,” he said. “Our car is so critical when it comes to this issue. I’m angry that we sent our drivers out too early in the SQ2. We would have been better off waiting in the garage, even with the risk of rain coming earlier.”
When rain started falling towards the end of SQ2, teams began panicking. A lot of cars lined up on the pit-lane, and it took Mercedes more than two minutes to get on the track. This wasted time put Russell at a disadvantage, according to Wolff.
Russell’s SQ2 was catastrophic but Hamilton was nearly exposed to the same fate. He barely made it to SQ3, and Wolff questioned his strategists while applauding Red Bull at the same time. The defending champions stayed in the garage until the last moment which was ideal per Toto Wolff.
Mercedes’ first podium of 2024
Lewis Hamilton put in an incredible shift in the wet weather conditions to earn himself a front row start for the sprint. Thankfully for Mercedes, the Brit carried the form into the race on Saturday which was held under dry conditions.
Hamilton started and finished the race in P2, and even though it was a Sprint race, the Brackley-based outfit will be happy with its first podium of the year. For Hamilton, it is a huge confidence boost amid what has been a torrid start to the campaign.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won the Chinese GP Sprint, and his teammate Sergio Perez finished third. Russell, meanwhile, was able to make up three places and finished P8, earning a point for Mercedes.
