F1 News: Mercedes Chief On Lewis Hamilton's Missed Pole Position - 'Norris Would've Gone Faster Anyway'

Mercedes chief Toto Wolff comments on Lando Norris' deleted lap reinstatement which secured him pole position for the Chinese GP Sprint Race.

Toto Wolff / Mercedes Press Image

Lando Norris managed to secure pole position for McLaren in the Chinese GP Sprint Race, despite his lap time initially being deleted, knocking Lewis Hamilton off the top spot. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff was asked following the session if the team might contest the decision, however, he claimed the McLaren driver "would've gone faster anyway".

The Formula 1 sprint qualifying in Shanghai saw its share of drama with Lando Norris claiming pole position after his lap time was originally deleted due to an off-track excursion. McLaren's team boss, Andrea Stella, clarified the situation during a post-qualifying interview, stating that Norris had gone off-track in the corner before his pole lap, which led officials to scrutinize the validity of his subsequent lap time. However, upon further review, the lap was deemed valid and reinstated. Stella commented:

"We think it might have been because in the last before he went off at the last corner and they might have thought in this case, having been off at the last corner, it might have implications for the following lap which is the pole lap.

"That lap is completely clean, so there is no problem at all.

"It was reinstated by the FIA themselves.

"Definitely because you go off at the last corner you go off at much lower speed and effectively Lando loses almost three tenths because he has been off at the previous last corner."

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff reacted to the situation after the session, stating to Sky Sports F1:

"I haven't seen the detail, I've just seen 'four tyres off track' but honestly he was probably slower, so would have gone even faster anyway.

"It shows it's about tyre preparation. We did the right thing on the final run. The tyres were in the sweet spot, combined with great driving and that made the time."

Throughout the session, other drivers like Max Verstappen also had lap times deleted for similar infringements in the wet weather conditions.