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via Getty

via Getty

Mercedes had probably the fastest car on the track at the Turkish Grand Prix. But it looks like the race might have ended for them in a bittersweet manner. While Valtteri Bottas won the race comfortably, Lewis Hamilton threw away a podium to finish in P5.

The seven-time world champion made a quick recovery after starting from P11 after his engine penalty. The Mercedes engine was extremely quick in the race and helping them ease past their rivals. With so much discussion around the team’s newfound pace, Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff revealed the secret behind their engine.

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Toto Wolff reveals the secret behind their engine performance

Just like every member of the team, Wolff also had mixed emotions. He praised Valtteri for a seamless drive, but it express disappointment in Hamilton’s result. When asked about the secret behind Lewis’s new engine performance, he gave a hilarious response.

“A V12. Don‘t tell anyone,” said Wolff, cheekily.

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The Mercedes team boss justifies stopping Lewis at the end

As reported by GPBlog, Toto Wolff stated that they had to take a gamble with the tires. Since Lewis had refused to come into the pits previously, they thought the tires might not last the race and they could have lost more.

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via Reuters

“It’s quite interesting. The intermediates looked really scary, but we thought that we could maybe hang out there and finish third with not stopping, or if a dry line appeared, we’d go for a slick to the end.

“So, we balanced between pitting and fighting with Perez and Leclerc on track for P3 or taking a bit of a gamble, either winning or finishing third,” said Wolff.

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Hamilton was running in podium places when he came into the pits. He came out P5 behind Leclerc but in the end, had to defend from the cars behind to keep his place. The result meant that he lost the championship lead to Verstappen.

Did you agree with Mercedes‘s decision? Let us know.