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wolff on pole hamilton mistake with russell and mercedes chances

Wolff not surprised by pole Hamilton: 'If you give him the car...'

23 July 2023 at 10:46
Last update 23 July 2023 at 13:31
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  • Toby McLuskie

Lewis Hamilton grabbed the first pole of the season for Mercedes on Saturday. The Briton was three thousandths faster than Max Verstappen in his final run. Toto Wolff is proud of his team and driver after capturing pole.

Hamilton takes pole at Hungaroring

Like last year, Mercedes took pole position in Hungary, only this time it is Hamilton starting from first place instead of George Russell. "We had a package that was competitive. That's something we can be really proud of. Lewis drove an amazing lap and put it on pole. If you give him a car, that's what he can do. We made some good decisions with the set-up overnight and the drivers moved it in the right direction in FP3. The car we had today gave them confidence and allowed them to push," Wolff said in a press release.

Russell eliminated early

Not everything went smoothly on Saturday in Hungary for Mercedes, as Russell was eliminated as early as Q1. The Briton fell victim to chaos in the final sector before starting his final fast lap. "We made a mistake with George. We should have put him in a much better position on track and we've apologised to him for that. There's a 'gentleman's agreement' that you don't overtake one another as time is running out. He had a number of cars move ahead of him though and that obviously screwed up his last lap."

Wolff uncertain about race

Whether Hamilton can turn his pole position into a win, the Mercedes team boss is not so sure yet. "We will be fighting tomorrow, and we know it will be tough. The long run pace of others looked strong but form in the race sometimes looks a little different to practice. We will be giving it everything we've got and see what our car is capable of."