Toto Wolff openly admits his Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport team did not have the quickest car last weekend at the Hockenheimring, but luck played its part in the German Grand Prix, and they came out with a one-two finish.
Lewis Hamilton claimed victory despite starting fourteenth after a problem during Qualifying, while Valtteri Bottas ended up second, although team orders towards the end of the race prevented the Finn from attacking his team-mate despite being on fresher tyres.
Wolff, the head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport, says whilst their luck was good in Germany, they’ve had quite a few instances throughout the season when luck has not been on their side, so it was good to get that luck in their home Grand Prix.
“We’ve had our fair share of bad luck this season, but it felt like our fortunes turned around in Hockenheim,” said Wolff. “A one-two is always a great result; to get it on Mercedes home turf after starting from P2 and P14 on the grid was absolutely incredible.
“However, in the cold light of day, we also know and recognise that we did not bring the quickest car to Hockenheim.”
Mercedes lead both championships heading into this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, with Hamilton seventeen points ahead of Sebastian Vettel in the Drivers’ standings, while Scuderia Ferrari are eight points adrift of them in the Constructors’ Championship.
Wolff insists that while this is a good achievement and every member of the team can be proud of the job they’ve done so far, there is still ten races of the season to go and everyone will need to keep pushing to ensure they keep their positions at the top of both championships.
“We’ve passed the halfway point of the season and we lead both championships by very close margins,” said the Austrian. “Each and every member of our team has worked very hard to make this possible and the determination and energy in our factories seems to be ever-growing.
“We all know that no prizes are given out for half-time champions, so we will keep pushing to improve our performance.”
Wolff expects the opposition from Ferrari and Aston Martin Red Bull Racing to be very fast at the Hungaroring, but he hopes Mercedes can secure a good number of points to head into the summer break on a high and with momentum.
“Hungary will see another tough fight with both Ferrari and Red Bull,” he said. “It’s a high downforce track and on paper they should both be very fast in Budapest.
“However, if there’s one thing the German Grand Prix taught us, it’s the fact that predictions don’t determine race results. We will give it everything to go into the summer shutdown with as many points as possible.”
