Toto Wolff defends Lewis Hamilton’s ‘screwed me over here’ complaints
Toto Wolff and Lewis Hamilton talking
Toto Wolff has quashed rumbles of favouritism in the Mercedes camp towards George Russell, asking why Mercedes would penalise Lewis Hamilton when they’re chasing points.
Out-qualified for the seventh time in eight races, Hamilton revealed after qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix that Russell was the only one of the team-mates running Mercedes’ upgraded front wing.
Toto Wolff perplexed by sabotage rumbles
Going on to tell the media including PlanetF1.com that he did “not anticipate being ahead of George in qualifying particularly this year”, Hamilton was quizzed on that statement and replied: “We’ll see.”
He has since brought his qualifying head-to-head against Russell up to two-nine but it is Russell who has the team’s only win of the season, taking the chequered flag ahead of Oscar Piastri at the Austrian Grand Prix.
And in the midst of all came a malicious email that alleged the team was favouring Russell and referred to the “systemic sabotage” of Hamilton.
Wolff is baffled as to why anyone would think Mercedes would sabotage Hamilton.
“Why would you favour the driver that stays? For what reason?” he told Sky F1‘s Martin Brundle.
“We want to win a Constructors’ Championship. We want to finish on a high with Lewis. We want to celebrate these 12 years, the longest-ever relationship between driver and team.”
As for the driver’s own complaints when things don’t go as he’d hoped, Wolff called that “completely normal”.
“When a driver had had a bad race,” he said, “the strategy has worked against him, the tyre choice was not great.
“There will always be that emotional part of, ‘You guys screwed me over here’. That is completely normal. That’s the first reaction when you get out of the car.”
Lewis Hamilton v George Russell’s 2024 head-to-head battle
F1 2024: Head-to-head qualifying record between team-mates
F1 2024: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates
In fact, such is Wolff’s feelings towards Hamilton even though the driver is departing, he wishes him all the best for his time with Ferrari.
All the best but “behind” Mercedes this is.
“I’d much rather us winning, and this is what we can influence, then Ferrari,” he said. “But I only wish him the best… But maybe that’s behind us.”
It’s not the first time Wolff has stated his desire to beat Hamilton next season, revealing back in March that in fact told the driver just that.
Speaking with Hamilton a day before his Ferrari announcement, Wolff revealed part of their conversation saying: “I think first I can’t imagine him in red. I don’t think it suits him, but I think that picture is going to be interesting.
“And then I told him, you’ve got to really picture our rear wing because that’s the perspective you’re going to have.”
11 races into this season, Mercedes are fourth in the Constructors’ Championship to Ferrari’s P3 but have outscored them by 100 points to 39 in the last three race weekends.
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