Lewis Hamilton F1 news: Toto Wolff left unimpressed with qualifying performance

Spanish Grand Prix

Wolff left UNIMPRESSED with Hamilton’s qualifying performance

Toto Wolff appeared dejected with Hamilton's qualifying result in Spain

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Sunday 23 June 2024 11:12 Updated: 11:45

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Despite securing a top three result at the Spanish Grand Prix, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff still appeared dejected after Lewis Hamilton's qualifying performance.

The seven-time world champion announced he would be leaving Mercedes to join Ferrari in 2025, after a decade of success with the German team.

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However, Hamilton’s final season at Mercedes has been painful so far, with the British star struggling in a poorly performing W15, and against team-mate George Russell.

Mercedes have recently been in the headlines after emails circulated claiming the team were sabotaging Hamilton - an accusation Hamilton, Wolff and Russell have all denied.

Lewis Hamilton has endured a difficult 2024 so far

George Russell has out-qualified Lewis Hamilton by a distance so far this season

Wolff dejected following qualifying in Spain

Aided by upgrades introduced to Hamilton’s car in Canada, Hamilton had a relatively strong showing in Barcelona on Saturday afternoon, managing to clinch P3 on the grid for Sunday's race.

Russell will start behind in fourth, a result the team would have been overjoyed with a few weekends ago.

Yet, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff did not appear overly impressed with Hamilton’s performance, after hopes they could obtain pole position.

“It’s not great. I mean, third and fourth could have been fifth and sixth because it was so close with the Ferraris,” Wolff explained to Sky Sports.

"Three-tenths to the leaders, it didn’t look that way yesterday, but maybe we’ve been too optimistic with yesterday’s performance.

Toto Wolff said Mercedes' qualifying pace was 'not great' in Spain

"Today was a different day, so overall it’s a solid, solid result but no more than that.”

When asked if Hamilton appeared re-energised by the result, Wolff admitted he was happy for the champion after a difficult season.

“Yeah, I think he’s always been energised, but the gaps are so tiny. You can see today, it can swing one direction or the other and I’m happy that it went good for him today," Wolff added.

Wolff also seemed ambivalent towards Max Verstappen being beaten for pole, instead focusing on his own team's performance.

“I’m not sure it’s a boost. I mean he’s beaten by Norris, if we look at ourselves, it’s three-tenths. So, let’s see how the McLaren’s go tomorrow. It is good to have one challenger, maybe we can have a good day tomorrow," Wolff finished.

Ferrari Mercedes