Lewis Hamilton's Barcelona win was an 'epic race,' says Toto Wolff
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff called the Spanish GP an “epic race” after Lewis Hamilton managed to defeat Sebastian Vettel – with a little help from some calls on the pit wall.
Hamilton lost out at the start of the Barcelona race, but after a hard fought contest he was able to pass Sebastian Vettel in the closing laps.
“An epic race and I hope this fight continues like this because it's how motor racing and Formula 1 should be,” said Wolff. “Obviously we've lost Valtteri which is very bitter sweet for us but watching Seb and Lewis fight it out on track, have the strategists fighting against each other, it's like Formula 1 should be.
“I think we improve every weekend and start to understand how the tires interact with the cars and it’s going to be a development race until the end of the season in my opinion. About understanding how the car functions best, how to develop the competition, how to put on more downforce, how to improve the engine. You can’t miss out on those topics. To win the championship this year you will have to do well in all those areas.”
The key to the win was the decision to pit Hamilton just as the virtual safety period was ending, which gained him time and allowed him to catch Vettel, who had to pit under green.
“There was a bit of thought process in the strategy group, at a certain stage we planned to do the opposite to Sebastian - and then the magic call was the one to take the pit stop at a time when it looked like the VSC would end soon. Because Sebastian could have reacted to that, pitted next lap.
“You lose much when you do a regular pit stop during the race. Your pit stop loss is around 21 seconds and all cars are at speed so you lose time being stationary and by being slow in the pit lane. And on the VSC everyone on the track is moving much slower so the effective pit stop loss is less. If you’re able to pit under a VSC or a safety car for that matter, I don’t know the overall number but the actual loss is probably around 12, 13 seconds so it is much better.”
Wolff was keen to praise Bottas for playing his part by holding up Vettel before his engine failed. He had been forced to go back to the old one earlier in the weekend, after issues with the new one.
“It was real teamwork and do not forget the one who lost out today in Valtteri, keeping him out and made Sebastian lose five or six seconds. Overall it was a great team result, meaning the driver, the team, the teammate, everybody.
“We knew we would be extending the mileage. And it's unfortunate and we had it in the past - and today it bit Valtteri. Valtteri played an important role in Lewis' victory today because his position was third before the failure and he couldn't really do anything any more, probably the car was damaged after contact to Kimi in Turn 1. And he held on to it, to bring in valuable points for himself and the team, and then unfortunately we had the engine problem.”
