Frustrated Mercedes Boss Toto Wolff Snubs Max Verstappen Pole With Bold Lewis Hamilton Claim

Max Verstappen once again proved why he’s leading the 2022 championship table. The Dutchman not only fetched his fourth pole of the season but also gave himself a chance to extend his lead further. However, Mercedes’s boss thinks the final qualifying result could have gone in favor of Lewis Hamilton.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has claimed Hamilton had his chances of dethroning Verstappen from the pole position. The Austrian is of the opinion that the British international had impressive sectors in the final flying lap until it was abandoned due to a yellow flag caused by Sergio Perez.

Talking to Sky Sports, Toto Wolff stated, “It’s very frustrating. We were a tenth up on Verstappen and on Leclerc, so Lewis played for the pole here.”

When asked if Hamilton was fastest before the final lap incident, Wolff asserted, “Yes, we were ahead.”

“It’s not the case at the end. I think he [Perez] pushed it a lot and lost it. It’s not his fault. You lose the pole because of a yellow or you lose the pole by a few hundredths if you run first. Afterwards, you always know better,” concluded the Mercedes AMG F1 boss.

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How did the Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell fare against Max Verstappen?

Red Bull’s Sergio Perez was on an impressive lap until he spun in the very last corner. This brought caution, which resulted in a yellow flag ending the Q3 session early. This meant Lewis Hamilton also had to abandon the mighty lap he was on.

Hamilton ultimately clocked 1:10.648 and qualified in P4 for Sunday’s race. The Mercedes driver was 0.306 seconds slower than the Dutchman. Interestingly, all the top six drivers have completed six laps each to finish the final qualification.

On the other hand, George Russell also had impressive lap times at Zandvoort. The young Briton had a commendable Q1 and Q2 outing with an ultimate P6 in Q3. The former Williams driver clocked 1:11.147 and was 0.805 slower than pole-sitter Verstappen.

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As it stands, the Red Bull ace looks to extend his lead on his home turf this weekend. It’ll be interesting to see if Lewis Hamilton can put up a fight and prove Toto Wolff right.