Toto Wolff’s proxy admits Mercedes could have gotten a double podium had they not messed up at the Qatar GP
Bradley Lord, one of the two proxies appointed by Mercedes as Team Principals in Toto Wolff’s absence, admitted that the team had messed up at the Qatar GP.
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Toto Wolff and Bradley Lord (via imago)
Toto Wolff was absent from the chaotic Qatar Grand Prix due to some health reasons. The Mercedes Team Boss was recovering from a recent surgery on his anterior cruciate ligament at his Monaco residence. Mercedes’ two senior officers, Driver Development Director Jerome D’Ambrosio and Chief Communications Officer Bradley Lord stepped up to fill in Toto’s shoes in his absence. But the Qatar GP hardly turned out to be how the team wanted it to. Now, Lord has spoken about the two Mercs colliding on the very first lap of the Grand Prix.
Mercedes looked set to have a good race as George Russell and Lewis Hamilton qualified P2 and P3, respectively. The team decided to put Hamilton on soft tires while putting the Mediums on Russell’s car. This decision was later criticized by many pundits and fans as they claimed it was ‘A recipe for disaster’. Due to the different tire configuration, Hamilton got a much better start off of the grid than Russell and the pair were in a wheel-to-wheel race against each other in Turn 1.
Bradley Lord reflected on the entire weekend in Qatar, and he admitted that the Silver Arrows lost out on a potential double podium. FormulaRapida.com reported Lord saying,“We did miss an opportunity. What might have been was a P2, P3 double podium, which would have been our equal best result since Barcelona.”
Lewis Hamilton and George Russell embrace as the veteran apologizes for the lap 1 incident
New footage has been released by the Mercedes Social media team which shows the Veteran Hamilton approaching Russell for an apology. The video shows Hamilton tracking George Russell down and saying “Sorry about today, It wasn’t your fault.” The Mercedes teammates later embraced each other.
Lewis Hamilton also had taken to his personal social media to accept blame for the Turn 1 incident. His post read, “I’ve watched the replay and it was 100% my fault and I take full responsibility. Apologies to my team and to George.” This displays harmony amidst the building tensions in the Mercedes garage. It’s heartwarming to see a driver of Hamilton’s standard accept his mistake to a much younger Russell.
Fans have wondered whether this show of affection is limited to the garage, to being off the track. Many have suggested that the pair will be ready to get their elbows out and race hard against each other come next Race weekend. Incidentally, the pair have done just that for the last couple of races. It’ll be interesting to see who triumphs in the brand new beginnings of yet another ‘Silver War’.
In case you missed it:
- AlphaTauri explain how Daniel Ricciardo has improved their team despite being absent from races
- Frustrated Carlos Sainz makes SHOCKING claim that drivers were not informed about last-minute changes to Qatar GP track limits
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Himanshu Chavan
(232 Articles Published)