F1 news: Mercedes boss Toto Wolff 'annoyed' at team despite Lewis Hamilton brilliance

Toto Wolff during press conference — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

Mercedes boss 'annoyed' at team despite Hamilton brilliance

It was a mixed Sprint Qualifying session in Shanghai for Mercedes

Originally written by Stuart Telford. This version is a translation.

Saturday 20 April 2024 19:00

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff was not a happy man despite an impressive qualifying session for Lewis Hamilton ahead of Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix.

Hamilton had qualified in second, +1.261 seconds behind Lando Norris, after the McLaren man had his deleted fastest lap reinstated at the end of a wet session.

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It denied Hamilton his first pole position since Hungarian GP in 2023, but Wolff wasn't particular put off by that fact…

Mercedes' other driver, George Russell, had been a surprise casualty in SQ2 as the team once again struggled in dry conditions, and started 11th having only narrowly avoided being knocked out in the first part of the session.

Teammate Russell (l.) didn't even finish

Wolff 'annoyed' with Mercedes' Q2

"No, I'm actually not happy at all, I'm annoyed," stormed the Austrian.

"I'm annoyed that we got it so wrong in Q2 with both cars, again with the tyre grip, and then we got it right in the third section. Free lap, that's all that matters, then the car has the performance, but the wobbling around in Q1 and Q2 doesn't make it any better for me now."

The top three drivers - Norris, Hamilton and Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso - all qualified with Mercedes engines, and Wolff at least drew some consolation from that.

"If you try to look at it in a very positive way and make a correlation between the qualifying X and the Mercedes engine, then yes [it's good], absolutely. Our engine is good to drive, we know that. And of course it helps the layout."

Mercedes will need to replace Hamilton at the end of the season with the joint-record seven-time champion bound for Ferrari. The Scuderia's Carlos Sainz - who qualified fifth - has been linked with a move in the opposite direction.