Toto Wolff claims that it was just two loose screws that resulted in Lewis Hamilton’s Brazil qualifying DSQ.
It was Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton who qualified the fastest on Friday for the sprint race only to have an inquiry launched by the stewards over his rear wing flaps.
FIA Technical delegate Joe Bauer noted in his report that the British driver’s DRS flap opening was greater than the prescribed 85mm.
As a result, Hamilton’s rear wing was removed and impounded as the investigation went on. Mercedes was prohibited from checking it for themselves during this time. After a long wait, the F1 community was shocked to hear that the seven-time champion had been disqualified from qualifying.
As a result of the DSQ, Hamilton had to start the sprint race on Saturday from the very back of the grid. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff stated at the time that it was a 0.2mm discrepancy which caused the rear wing to fail tests.
Eventually, Mercedes were given access to the tainted wing and launched their own investigation into what caused the error. It was then found that two loose screws were the culprit.
“We got the rear wing back and, as we thought, it was broken,” he stated. “It broke in qualifying.”
“We didn’t pass the 85mm slot gap test on the far right side. We passed it on the left and the middle, but not on the middle by a fraction of a millimetre and that’s fine.
“We weren’t allowed to inspect it, nor to make the argument that the part is being broken and consequently we found out that two screws became undone in qualifying and that caused that right side to be irregular.”
“You know probably it was even detrimental to the lap time but it is what it is.”
‘It’s not over’
Toto Wolff was quite disappointed with the way the stewards handled the situation especially considering Wolff maintains that the irregularity was not done on purpose.
“It was reported to the stewards and that was very different to how these things were handled in the past where you would be able to patch up things that got broken during parc ferme but we’ve moved on.” said Wolff to the media.
Hamilton managed to finish the sprint race in P5 after starting from the back. His stellar straight-line speed swallowed up almost any car which came in its way.
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With a engine change, the resultant five-place grid penalty had Hamilton start the race from P10 but even that setback proved to be no issue for the seven-time world champion. Ultimately, Hamilton won the Brazil Grand Prix despite all the setbacks.
“It’s a race gone,” said Wolff. “We were obviously able to turn it around.”
“I think now the rules are in a way reset and we’re going to do the best out of it for the current grand prix and the next ones to come.
