Mercedes boss Toto Wolff had a rather sassy response for Lewis Hamilton during the final phases of the Austrian GP when the Briton was complaining about the ill-performing W-14. Wolff turned to the radio and said, “Lewis the car is bad, we know, please drive it.” Many believe this response, though being a frustrated one from the team boss, might have had its implications. Contrary to that, the team honcho informed us that it was just an attempt to calm things down with flustered Hamilton.
Austrian GP weekend proved to be long and exhausting for the Silver Arrows. They came to Spielberg with hopes of putting in a stunning performance and carrying on the Canadian GP momentum. However, the W-14 did not perform anywhere close to the heights of its powers. The fact that Mercedes performed better in Montreal than at the Red Bull ring is particularly concerning because the team and drivers expected the opposite of it.
Mercedes has been experiencing quite a roller coaster ride this season so far. After finishing P7 and P8 in Austria, they were still able to manage the second spot in the constructors’ standings. However, Aston Martin has come invariably close to them after a stronger weekend. Particularly under the lens at the Austrian GP was Lewis Hamilton. He was handed over multiple warnings and time penalties across the weekend by the FIA.
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Toto Wolff and Lewis Hamilton had an intense post-race discussion
Hamilton crossed the line in P7 but another 10-second penalty meant he had to swap places with George Russell in P8. Across the weekend, Hamilton got flustered on multiple occasions. It was mostly regarding the underperformance of the car or the application of track limits by the FIA. At one point he even reported Perez via radio for running wide on turn 16.
In a recent interview, Wolff walked us through the situation and how he attempted to calm things down with Hamilton. Primarily so that the actual job doesn’t get compromised.
“Only for the best of the drivers and in the best interests of the drivers and of the team. Sometimes there is a certain moment you need to calm things down. We had a lot of discussion about track limits and whether they were enforced or not and I felt I wanted to just make sure we were getting the best out of the package that didn’t perform and just drive to give it the best shot that we have,” said Wolff
Moreover, he assured that any of this will not impact the ongoing negotiations between Hamilton and the team regarding a contract extension.
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