F1 News
Wolff admits Mercedes had fears over Hamilton's car
- Jake Williams-Smith
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has admitted that the team had worried over the condition of Lewis Hamilton's W10 during the Canadian Grand Prix.
The team discovered a hydraulic leak late on Saturday evening which required a full dismantling and rebuilding of the rear of the car to rectify the issue.
Then, on the pull away from the grid on the formation lap, Hamilton struggled to pull away from his grid slot and was quickly on the radio to ask the team if there was any further problem with the car.
Speaking after the race, Wolff admitted the team had battled through the weekend, with half the team fighting the flu while the championship leaders car had to be saved at the last moment.
"What looks to be a victory was a very tough weekend for the team behind the scenes," Wolff told media after the race.
"We had a car that was in a million bits in the morning, because of the hydraulic leak and we weren’t sure whether we could race it and whether it would finish the race.
"So, half of the team was suffering from the flu behind [the scenes]. Which nobody sees. It was just a matter of pushing through.
"We had the engine that blew up on Lance [Stroll’s] car [in FP3], which we didn’t know if it would affect us.
"Overall the most difficult race weekend I can remember even though it didn’t look like this from the outset at all."