After suffering the collision at Spa-Francorchamps and the subsequent apparent meltdown in the press, the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS team put all their worries behind them and took a commanding one-two result in qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix, with Lewis Hamilton ahead of Nico Rosberg.
Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport Toto Wolff praised the strong showing of his drivers after locking out the front row at Monza, and the German was also happy to see Mercedes-Benz power lock out the top six on the grid, with the two Mercedes being followed by the two Williams’ and two McLaren’s.
“That was a strong team performance today,” said Wolff. “When it came down to the final laps and the drivers had to lay it all on the line, Lewis delivered a special second sector while Nico had a small snap in the Ascari chicane. At this level, it’s small things like that which make the difference.
“Congratulations to the whole team after an intensive weekend and a special word, too, for our colleagues in Brixworth. It’s seriously impressive to see six Mercedes-Benz engines in the top six positions for qualifying at Monza.”
Executive Director (Technical) Paddy Lowe also gave praise to both Hamilton and Rosberg for their qualifying efforts, especially with the field being so close behind the Mercedes duo, neither driver could afford a mistake, and is hoping for a good race on Sunday afternoon.
“Our day did not start well with Nico’s loss of running in third practice, which meant he couldn’t do all the laps he would have liked,” said Lowe. “We were able to resolve the problem without any penalty, though. This afternoon, we saw a very tense qualifying session. There were a lot of competitive cars out there today, especially the Williams, so we needed the drivers to put together some stunning laps – and that’s exactly what they did.
“Lewis put together an extraordinary lap on his first run in Q3, then Nico was almost matching that on his second run, if it had not been for a small snap in the Ascari chicane. It’s great to secure the front row once again and to see Mercedes power in the top six positions. We’re now looking forward to a really good race at this iconic circuit, and to putting on a good show for the Tifosi in the stands.”
