F1 News

Wolff reaction to Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort

Wolff frustrated: "Subpar from all of us, and that includes me"

27 August 2023 at 18:05

Toto Wolff has given an honest reflection on Mercedes' performance at the Dutch Grand Prix. George Russell finished at the back despite starting from the second row. At one point, Lewis Hamilton ran in 20th place but worked his way back to P6.

Weather problems at Mercedes

Mercedes predicted the rain wouldn't be that bad at the start of the race, as Russell confirmed in an earlier interview. This meant that Mercedes stayed out on the track too long, and it hampered both of their races, as Wolff explained to Sky Sports.

"We stayed out catastrophically too long. We got it completely wrong, and that's annoying because the car had really good pace. From then on, it was just about recovering as well as we could.  I would rather have good pace and a fast race car than a mediocre result even if it hurts. We saw at the end on the intermediates that George had Max's pace, and Lewis was very strong behind Sainz. We could've been much further ahead," Wolff said.

"It's still bittersweet because the result is really bad. It could've been, but that doesn't count in our sport. We will review it thoroughly. It's never one person or one department. That was subpar from all of us, and that includes me. It's good when it hurts. When it stings, it sticks."

Hamilton lost ground to Fernando Alonso and Sergio Perez in the World Championship battle for P3 and P2. But Mercedes themselves remain second in the Constructors World Championship.