Wolff hints at Mercedes hindsight strategy change

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has conceded the value of "hindsight" after both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were left frustrated by their tyre strategies at the Mexico City Grand Prix.

F1's tyre manufacturer Pirelli had conceded on Friday that it may have been too conservative in its compound selection for the weekend, which proved the case with strategy forecasts suggesting the hard tyres would be seldom seen in the race.

Red Bull started the race on soft tyres with both drivers whilst Mercedes doubled up on medium tyres, yet after matching Max Verstappen in the opening stint, Hamilton was pitted only four laps later than his rival despite the tyre offset.

The double world champion made his mediums last the entire second stint, outpacing Hamilton on hards with the gap finishing up at over 15 seconds.

Both Hamilton and Russell were disgruntled during the race after being switched to the white-walled tyres and Wolff said: "In hindsight, it is always easier to judge but the one-stop medium-hard looked like the right strategy.

"The medium at the end holding so long came as a surprise.

"If we were to restart the race, maybe we would choose a different tyre."

The apparent error in tyre strategy was highlighted by Daniel Ricciardo's stunning drive through the mid-pack, rising from outside the points to finish seventh on a medium-soft tactic, even overcoming a 10-second penalty to stay ahead of Esteban Ocon.

"It could have been that we lose more time on the medium for another five or six laps and then try to do 30 laps on the soft," explained Wolff.

"But also that was not even very good, although with Daniel you can see it was possible."