Toto Wolff admits pitwall misread Hamilton's advantage; Merc thought Ferrari would pit Vettel; Hamilton absolved of blame
Sunday 24 May 2015 19:34, UK
An apologetic Toto Woff admitted Mercedes had “got the maths wrong” after a disastrous strategy call robbed Lewis Hamilton of victory, and the team a one-two finish, in the Monaco GP.
Hamilton, leading team-mate Nico Rosberg by around 18 seconds at the time of the late Max Verstappen-triggered Safety Car, was unexpectedly pulled into the pits under the caution conditions as the Mercedes pitwall guarded against what they thought might be an aggressive pitstop by Ferrari for Sebastian Vettel, who was third at the time.
However, the decision spectacularly backfired as Hamilton re-emerged from his stop behind both the sister Mercedes and Vettel, who like Rosberg didn’t stop for fresh tyres either. With pundits and fans left bemused by the apparently inexplicable call to pit their race leader, team boss Wolff told Sky Sports F1: “We had a problem in the maths. We thought we could afford a safety stop in order to protect against Sebastian Vettel going on the soft tyre.
But put squarely to him by Ted Kravitz that Ferrari were never intending to pit Vettel anyway and therefore they didn't actually present a threat, Wolff replied: “When Lewis was in Rascasse they were not going into Tabac yet, so there was plenty of time to do a stop.
“At the end of the day we got the maths wrong. The calculation that was giving the gap was giving us a bigger gap than we actually had. Full stop.”
Whereas Mercedes thought Hamilton was 21 seconds clear of Rosberg, the Briton was slowed by the appearance of the Safety Car on his in-lap and ultimately didn’t have enough of a gap to pit and still emerge back in the lead of the race.
As the controversy continued to swirl around the world championship-winning team, Wolff admitted it was also debatable whether they should have taken the risk to pit Hamilton even if the lead had been as large as they thought it was.
“It was three-and-a-half seconds where we were wrong and now the question is should we have made the call with three-and-a-half seconds – it’s very simple,” he added.
With Hamilton lost for words after the race after an almost-certain second career victory in Monaco was snatched from him, Wolff was full of sympathy for the driver the team this week signed to a new three-year contract.
"We've lost Lewis the grand prix with the mistake," the Austrian acknowledged.
"We thought the gap was a different one that it actually was. Then he made a call and said the tyre temperature has dropped and there is no grip any more. A complete misjudgement, we shouldn't have had the overview. We screwed it up for him."
Hamilton appeared to attempt to at least shoulder some of the blame for the incorrect call after the race, telling Sky F1 that it had been a "collective decision" to pit, adding that he thought Rosberg had already been in for new tyres on the previous lap.
However, Wolff subsequently absolved his driver of any blame and paid tribute to way the Briton carried himself after the race.
"It was our decision to call him in and our mistake, pure and simple; in these situations, a driver trusts his team," the team boss made clear in Mercedes' post-race press release.
"Lewis had driven flawlessly until then and really delivered a perfect weekend, with a stunning pole lap and a masterful race. There's nothing more to say other than to highlight the grace with which he handled the situation; he was a leader and a true sportsman this afternoon."
Don’t miss the F1 Midweek Report for analysis and reaction to the Monaco GP. Natalie Pinkham is joined by F1 journalist Will Buxton and Lotus reserve driver Jolyon Palmer on Wednesday at 8:30pm on Sky Sports F1.
