“Can’t Recover From That”: Toto Wolff Delivers Verdict on Lewis Hamilton’s “Messy” Performance as 7x Champ Paints Real Austrian GP Target

Was Lewis Hamilton’s podium win in Barcelona a one-hit wonder? Well, this question arises because he failed to impress at the Sprint Qualifying session in Austria today. While getting into SQ3 looked like a cakewalk for Hamilton and his teammate, George Russell, the results were not satisfactory for them. In the end, the 7-time F1 Champ summarized the session by calling it ‘messy’ while Merc boss Toto Wolff explained that Lewis could not recover after running wide at Turn 1.

Toto Wolff’s criticism of Lewis Hamilton‘s SQ3 performance stems from the Briton’s mistake at Turn 1. His running wide caused him to clock a higher lap time than expected. In the end, he got the sixth spot on the starting grid for the Sprint Race, while his teammate George Russell came fourth. Reacting to the end result, Toto Wolff said he had expected one of his recruits to get pole position. The Austrian discussed how Lewis Hamilton’s quick Sector 1 was canceled by his error at Turn 1.

He said in his post-SQ interview, “The run to turn one was like a rally [for Lewis Hamilton], and you can’t recover from that.” However, the highlight of the session remains that both Ferrari drivers came up behind the Mercedes recruits despite the Scuderia currently leading the Silver Arrows in the constructors’ standings.

Lewis Hamilton himself regretted losing control of his W15. Had he pulled off a perfect lap in SQ3, the Mercedes racer could have secured a top 3 spot in Quali. He said, “I wasn’t in the mix at all. The session was messy. The car felt good but we didn’t have the pace to fight for the pole. They weren’t very clean laps.” But then he revealed his real target for this weekend. Hamilton said, “I don’t think overtaking is easy around here. So, the focus is on qualifying tomorrow.” Hence, the 39-year-old wants to capture the pole ahead of the Main Race in Austria as he wishes for a win on Sunday.

Toto Wolff admits Max Verstappen shattered his Austrian Sprint dream

Walking into the Austrian GP weekend, Toto Wolff and his team had enough confidence after scoring a P3 and P4 in Barcelona. The chief of the Stuttgart-based outfit wanted a pole position from either Lewis Hamilton or during Sprint Qualifying. However, that never happened as Russell could not beat the timings of Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, and Oscar Piastri. On the other hand, despite scoring the fastest Sector 1, Lewis Hamilton’s mistake in turn 1 cost him the pole position too.

Speaking of his expectations from the Sprint Quali, Toto Wolff said, “We thought we could fight for pole, and Verstappen was much too quick and the McLarens put good laps in.” Thus, the Austrian has admitted Red Bull’s marquee racer beat his recruits. Perhaps this is why recent rumors claim Toto wants to sign Verstappen up for Lewis’ seat once he leaves for Ferrari in 2025. However, Max Verstappen has not shown any interest in leaving Red Bull to replace the Briton.

Despite Hamilton’s future being fixed at Ferrari, he is still a Mercedes racer. In his last season with the team, he must wish to get his 104th race win. Do you think the German team can step up to the task of improving its cars to help Lewis Hamilton score a win at the upcoming Austrian GP? Let us know in the comments below.