Lewis Hamilton: Mercedes fear Max Verstappen in German GP

German GP

Mercedes fear Verstappen in German GP

Who will come out on top?

Matthew Scott

Sunday 28 July 2019 11:09

Toto Wolff pinpointed Max Verstappen as a hug threat to Mercedes' hopes of taking victory from their home race at the German Grand Prix.

After Ferrari's hopes fell apart in qualifying amid mechanical failures for Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton breezed to pole position at Hockenheim.

However, Valtteri Bottas could not make it a one-two for the team, with Verstappen set to start alongside Hamilton on quicker tyres – weather dependent.

Asked if he saw any threat to a Mercedes win, Wolff said: "Yeah, it's called Max Verstappen.

"[Red Bull] are driving well on the rough tarmac in these conditions.

"The Red Bulls in general have shown great race pace, and handling tyres well. They are definitely a threat for the race."

Mercedes brought upgrades to Hockenheim in light of high temperatures as they looked to solve the problems which hindered them in Austria to the point that they were not factor in a race which Verstappen won.

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However, Ferrari had the headline pace all through practice, until their operational errors on Saturday, and Wolff says frustrations remain.

"I think we were expecting to be much more competitive this weekend," Wolff said. "We brought a very solid upgrade package to the car.

"We knew the straight-line speed would work against us at Hockenheim, but sector three, similar to Barcelona, we should have stood out.

"But we didn't, all weekend. Fundamentally we are not happy with our own performance and it could have looked much different if Ferrari would have finished qualifying."