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Wolff: Strategy limited Hamilton

19:00, 15 Apr 2018

byJake Williams-Smith

Mercedes found themselves off the pace and behind not only Ferrari, but Red Bull as well.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says strategy was the limiting factor for Lewis Hamilton during the Chinese Grand Prix.

Hamilton had a torrid weekend after looking strong during Friday practice lining up only fourth on the grid.

“We thought at the time that track position would be more beneficial,” Wolff said. “You could see that in the first stint there was no overtaking, and Lewis was a medium at that stage, barely 10 laps old.

“Our calculation predicted the medium would last to the end, and putting a new soft we thought wouldn’t give you such a performance advantage, much more than we expected.

“Now looking back, it wasn’t the right strategy, it would have been the right strategy with the second soft. Nobody in the team including myself thought it was the right thing to do.

“The Ferraris and Mercedes decided for the same strategy, we stayed out, and I don’t think it was a matter of focus, it was a matter of the quickest race. That’s what our simulations showed.”