JUST IN: Toto Wolff responds to Lewis Hamilton’s ‘you see how I’m

Toto Wolff responds to Lewis Hamilton’s ‘you see how I’m driving this thing’ W15 comment

Lewis Hamilton endured a challenging Azerbaijan Grand Prix, starting from the pitlane after Mercedes opted to fit his car with a new power unit. The seven-time world champion had qualified in seventh place, two positions behind his teammate George Russell, but the decision to replace the power unit meant he would have to start from the back.

Hamilton’s race was far from smooth. He spent much of the event running outside the points, circulating in 11th place as the final laps approached. However, a late crash involving Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz allowed him to climb to ninth place, securing a handful of points for his efforts in what was otherwise a difficult race.

After the race, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff took to the team radio to offer his support to Hamilton. Wolff told him, “Lewis, good to make it to the end, that was a horror race. I can so relate to it, we can all relate to it. At least we’ve taken the penalty now. Let’s move forward, look forward.” Hamilton did not respond to the message, though his race engineer, Pete Bonnington, also offered words of encouragement as Hamilton returned to the pits, saying, “Well done.”

The decision to change Hamilton’s power unit was a strategic one for Mercedes. After suffering an engine failure earlier in the season in Australia, Hamilton was due to take a penalty for the new engine at some point in the remaining races. Wolff explained that Mercedes had debated whether to serve the penalty in Azerbaijan or at a future race, such as the upcoming race in Austin, Texas. Ultimately, the team decided to make the change in Baku.

“There are two difficult philosophies, and we discussed it at length,” Wolff said. “One is that you just swallow the pill here because, starting from P7, we don’t know where that would have gone, and then doing it in Austin. But we feel that Austin is an opportunity, so that was the decision. Right or wrong, I don’t know, but it was a close call.”

Wolff acknowledged that the Azerbaijan Grand Prix was always going to be a difficult race for Hamilton. Overtaking on the Baku City Circuit is notoriously challenging, and the characteristics of the circuit contributed to Hamilton’s struggles. Wolff explained that Hamilton’s car was prone to overheating its tires when following other cars closely, which made it even harder for him to make progress through the field.

During the race, Hamilton made a comment over the team radio about the difficulties he was facing with his car’s handling. He asked Bonnington, “Can you see how I’m having to drive this thing?” Hamilton later revealed that a problem with the car had been discovered after qualifying, which contributed to his struggles in the race. In addition to changing his power unit, Mercedes had also made adjustments to the car’s suspension.

“It was the worst balance I’ve probably ever had – one of the worst balances,” Hamilton said after the race. “Basically, I had so much front end but no rears. It’s not the way you drive. I had to yank the steering to break the traction from the front and slide the front through every corner. It’s the weirdest way I had to drive.”

Hamilton added that it had been the team’s decision to change the power unit and that they had deemed Azerbaijan the “best place” to take the penalty. Despite the struggles, Hamilton and Mercedes will be looking forward to future races with hopes of better results.