Hamilton drive 'the best fourth place ever'
Hamilton drive 'the best fourth place ever'
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has praised Lewis Hamilton after his heroics at the Brazilian Grand Prix, calling his drive 'the best fourth place I've ever seen.'
Hamilton was forced to begin the race from the pitlane after spinning out in qualification and his team performing some running repairs to his vehicle on Saturday evening.
But the introduction of the safety car brought Hamilton back into contention and he proceeded to tear through the grid, making up 10 places in eight laps before ultimately finishing in fourth spot, just 5.4 seconds behind winner Sebastian Vettel.
Speaking to the media after the race, Wolff could not contain his appreciation for Hamilton's performance, and even suggested that, at one point, he thought the world champion could actually win the race.
Wolff said: "I think a win would have been possible.
"He was the quickest guy out there. But you must remember that Sebastian was managing the pace at every time of the race, apart from the last laps. So we haven't probably seen the real race.
"For me it was the best fourth place I've ever seen. If you consider starting from the pitlane and ending up 5.4 seconds behind the leader, it is quite an astonishing drive."
Wolff also added, though, that in a team meeting to discuss strategy pre-race, the team had identified fourth as the best-case scenario if events fell in Mercedes' favour.
He added: "When we discussed it in the morning, we thought that what would be a realistic target with a safety car would be P4.
"We had the safety car so that helped us a little bit. But the gap to Ferrari was too close to have achieved much more."
Change your timezone:
Latest News
Newey Red Bull EXIT date revealed as F1 star confirmed at new team - GPFans F1 Recap
- Yesterday 23:57
Verstappen takes F1 swipe at Hamilton and rivals with ruthless remark
- Yesterday 22:57
Marko defends Ricciardo in 'unbelievable' idiot claim
- Yesterday 21:57
Hamilton hints at sensational Newey arrival at Ferrari
- Yesterday 20:57
Suspended Red Bull employee 'grilled' as Horner saga given potential END DATE
- Yesterday 19:57
BLOW for former F1 champion as Mercedes preferences revealed
- Yesterday 18:58
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860