F1 News: Toto Wolff Makes Admission - 'We Could Have Started from Pole Position'

Alex Harrington | Jul 27, 2024

Jun 9, 2024; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton (GBR) races ahead of Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc (MCO) during the Canadian Grand Prix at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports / Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports

At today's Belgian Grand Prix qualifying, Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff has expressed regret over the team's qualifying strategy, which he believes may have cost them pole position. During Q3, Mercedes opted for a conservative approach, a decision that both Wolff and star driver Lewis Hamilton later questioned.

Hamilton, who finished fourth in qualifying, was notably critical of the strategy employed by the team today, suggesting that an additional set of intermediate tires could have made a significant difference. His teammate, George Russell, initially qualified seventh but was bumped up to sixth due to a penalty issued to Max Verstappen who will find himself in P11 tomorrow.

Wolff highlighted a missed opportunity when comparing their strategy to that of their competitors:

"We were out early and chose the conservative path. We could probably have started from pole position if we had done it like [Charles] Leclerc, who gambled on the fact that it was dry in the end, which worked for him," he told ServusTV during their broadcast.

This comes after an upturn in Mercedes' form recently, which includes podium finishes in the last five races and victories in Austria and Britain from Russell and Hamilton respectively.

The implications of these strategic decisions extend beyond just starting positions. With race day conditions predicted to be dry, Wolff expressed mild optimism:

"In the long runs, they [Ferrari] were not so good yesterday in the dry. It will be dry, that's why we think it will be a race with the McLarens. Then Verstappen may join from behind. Yesterday he was absolutely the benchmark, and that's why I think he will also be tomorrow."

The 7-time champion, despite the conservative strategy, was happy with his performance.

"Overall, qualifying was a good session for us. We tried to predict the weather as best we could, which is a real challenge around here. In hindsight, we would have chosen to run a little later on our new set of Intermediates in Q3, but the conditions and incoming rain are so hard to forecast.

"Our pace was still decent on tyres that we had completed multiple push laps on so we can be pleased with our efforts today.Tomorrow's race will be a challenge. We've likely got a few quicker cars starting behind us in Verstappen and the McLarens. I will be getting my head down though, trying to hold position to them and see if I can keep up with the guys ahead of me.

"I will be giving it everything and hopefully the changes we've made overnight will help us find more pace in the dry than we had on Friday."