Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff analyzes the moment it almost went wrong for the Ferraris during the Italian GP. Already in the first lap, teammates Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton fought each other, causing the Brit to go off track. Later in the race, Wolff’s own drivers George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli encountered each other on the circuit in a similar way. “We could have looked like idiots then as well, just like the Ferraris eventually did,” said Wolff.
The moment in question happened already in the first lap of the Italian Grand Prix. Teammates Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton came into contact on the track, causing the latter to go off track. Afterwards, the Monegasque admitted that he should have acted differently.
Toto Wolff saw it all happen from the pit lane and wants to prevent a similar incident at all costs with his own drivers. “I can now give my opinion and say that it is not the intention to push your teammate off the track at turn two,” the Mercedes team boss responded to Sky.
However, for the Austrian, this is not unfamiliar territory. His own drivers fought earlier in Canada and later also at Monza itself fiercely for the win. “Three or four laps before the end (at Monza, ed.) we experienced a few tense moments between our drivers that we did not expect, because George had a worn tire and Kimi was a second faster,” said Wolff. “Did we expect them to fight like that? That could have led to a car ending up in the gravel trap. So we could have quickly looked like idiots as well, just like the Ferraris eventually did. So it is a fine line.”
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‘Bench warriors’
Andrea Kimi Antonelli eventually passed George Russell in Italy partly due to Mercedes’ decision to put the Italian on fresher medium tires during the late Virtual Safety Car. “We absolutely made the right choice,” said Wolff about that. Russell stayed out during the VSC period. “George was on the hard tire. It was predicted that a one-stop strategy would be the better choice. The medium tire was a compromise. We had to put Kimi on the medium tire because he started on the hard. There was simply no other option.”
Regarding speculation that Mercedes favored Kimi Antonelli, Wolff does not agree. “Of course, there are some ‘bench warriors’ who will comment after watching other material online, claiming that George was disadvantaged by the team. That is complete nonsense.”
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