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Wolff: "Red Bull has also had the bad luck we have now"
- GPblog.com
Lewis Hamilton made two mistakes in qualifying for the Russian Grand Prix. Firstly, he damaged his front wing entering the pit lane and then he spun on the slicks, leaving no time for another run in the closing stages. In any case, Toto Wolff does not blame the pressure on Hamilton.
The seven-time world champion is in a fierce battle for the world title with Verstappen, but Wolff doesn't want to put it down to that. "I don't think it was the pressure today, because it was already clear that Max would start at the very back," said the Mercedes team boss, who doesn't know what it might have had to do with. "But I don't think it's to do with the pressure of the championship, after all he wasn't the only one it happened to."
Both teams with 'bad luck'
It would have been ideal for Hamilton if he had been allowed to start from pole position with Valtteri Bottas behind him. The Briton would probably then have been able to take over the lead in the world championship again from Verstappen, but that is by no means a certainty as he has to start from fourth. Wolff is calm about it.
"It's annoying, but Red Bull has also had the bad luck we have now. Neither team has been able to build up a big lead [in the World Championship] so far," the Austrian chief said to Motorsport-Total.com. For the constructors' championship, Mercedes can at least do good business in Russia, as Perez will start only ninth, while in addition to Hamilton (P4), Mercedes can also count on Bottas from P7.