Toto Wolff brands Mercedes’ Hungarian GP Qualifying as “a total underdelivery”

George Russell got knocked out in Q1 amid changing climatic conditions.

Toto Wolff brands Mercedes’ Hungarian GP Qualifying as “a total underdelivery”

Toto Wolff (via IMAGO)

Mercedes emerged as a shocking front-runner after its consecutive victories in Austria and Britain. The German marque was poised to be in contention for pole during the Hungarian GP qualifying amidst Red Bull and McLaren‘s titanic battle. However, their efforts went in vain as George Russell was eliminated in Q1, and the sole remaining Silver Arrow only salvaged a P5 grid spot. This led Toto Wolff to assert that the team had underdelivered upon its potential.

The battle for the pole at the Hungarian GP emerged as a free-for-all, as Ferrari was on pace in practice sessions with Red Bull trailing them and Mercedes lurking behind. However, the picture cleared out as McLaren started to make strides and eventually locked out the front row, with the reigning champions rounding out the top three.

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On the contrary, George Russell received an early exit from qualifying due to a strategic blunder, and Lewis Hamilton was unable to overturn the team’s fortunes as he only managed to qualify P5 behind Mercedes’ bitter rivals.

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A total underdelivery. One car out in Q1 and then we just didn't have the pace. The car could have been two-tenths off, but we have been up and down with temperatures. Overall, it's 70% the team's fault (today).
Toto Wolff said in a post-qualifying interview

This subpar performance dejected Toto Wolff as he claimed the team to have underdelivered on its potential. He then explained that it was unacceptable as the pit wall was to be blamed for this abomination, while the W15 also did not showcase its pace as a top challenger.

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Lewis Hamilton reckoned Mercedes did an ‘okay job’ during Hungarian GP qualifying

With Mercedes barely managing to stay within the top five, the team did not expect such a slump after their heights in the previous few weekends. While such performance resulted in the team boss bashing the pit wall, on the contrary, Lewis Hamilton claimed that the team did an okay job.

Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton (Via IMAGO).

Hamilton admitted that the squad should be satisfied with its performance as they had showcased a decent pace.

We can only be satisfied. We did an okay job. We got the car in a decent place. When it's hot then we tend to struggle. When it was cold we were rapid, when it got a warmer, the others were stronger.
Lewis Hamilton said in the post-qualifying interview

The 39-year-old argued that they were in a decent place on the grid. However, he feared the hot climatic conditions around Hungary, as he explained the W15 was obedient in colder temperatures but paled away in hotter conditions.

On the other hand, Mercedes would be hoping for a better result tomorrow. The Silver Arrows scored the most points during the triple header and would like to continue this trend into the Hungarian GP weekend.

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