Toto Wolff admits Mercedes got ‘one or more junctions wrong’ after bruising Dutch GP result

Toto Wolff admitted that Mercedes messed up in Zandvoort after his drivers finished on the fringes of points.

Toto Wolff admits Mercedes got ‘one or more junctions wrong’ after bruising Dutch GP result

Toto Wolff (via IMAGO)

Red Bull was the benchmark at the start of the season. This scale started to tip away from them with each progressing race as McLaren began trading blows with the Austrian giant. Amid the battle between the two titans, Mercedes sneaked in and won three races in the previous few weekends. However, their hopes came crashing down at Zandvoort as the German marque collectively scored 12 points, causing Toto Wolff to admit that the team got the weekend crossed up.

Mercedes emerged as a contender for wins and poles when others had discounted them from winning a race under the current regulations. Moreover, triumphing against such odds made the team optimistic in a bid to challenge the top three teams in the championship. This was emphasized on the Dutch GP weekend as it began the second half of the season, where McLaren were able to leave their mark on the track.

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However, the same cannot be said for the German marque as they struggled to hold off faster rivals. This resulted in the team scoring a seventh and eighth-place finish.

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It was pretty bad. Last race weekend you finish first and second and then seven and eight. We clearly got one or more junctions wrong in how the car was running. It’s very bruising but sometimes you need the bruises to make a big step again. [George] terribly ran out of tyres so that’s why we had to switch to the two stop. Lewis had a lock up and that’s why a two stop there. But overall Lewis’ pace was good, I think that was correct. George it was a different set up direction that we need to evaluate.
Toto Wolff said in the post-race interview

This urged Toto Wolff to address the team’s performance at the Dutch GP. He admitted that the team had got wrong one or more aspects of the car which affected its potential. Subsequently, he revealed that George Russell burned through his tires while Lewis Hamilton faced a similar issue which might suggest that the W15 eats through its tires that could hurt them in the upcoming races.

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Lewis Hamilton apologized for his subpar qualifying to Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton is arguably F1’s greatest driver. However, his qualifying around Zandvoort raised eyebrows regarding his greatness and ability to perform. To further add salt to injury, he was hit with a three-place grid drop, reducing his chances even further to score solid points in the Grand Prix.

Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton (Via: Imago)

Subsequently, after finishing P8, he apologized to his team for his underwhelming performance on Saturday. Had he not had a shocker of a quali outing, he would have finished much higher and was a potential candidate for a podium around the 4.3-kilometer track.

Good effort guys. Sorry for such a bad qualifying. I think the pace was not bad today, if we had qualified higher, naturally it would’ve been better. Anyway, let’s keep pushing.
Lewis Hamilton said on the radio post-race

The Brit claimed the race pace to have been better as he recovered from a lower starting position. Despite his valiant efforts, he managed to bring only four points home causing him to take the blame for his mistake in qualifying, which ended up costing him in the race.

On the other hand, Ferrari had a decent race with Charles Leclerc securing another podium for the Scuderia. Thus, Hamilton could be happy observing his next team’s rising form in recent races.

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