Mercedes’ risk on old Intermediate F1 tires was worth it

The world champion had recovered strongly from eleventh place on the grid and was in fifth place behind Sergio Perez from Red Bull by the middle of the race.

But when a number of cars pitted before him for new Inters, Hamilton, along with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, decided to try and hold out until the end without change.

Though that decision cost both drivers when it became clear the Inters weren’t going to hold, Wolff believes Mercedes is on the right track to push for a much better result.

“The intermediate stage looked really scary, of course, but we thought we could maybe hang out there and finish third without stopping,” Wolff told Sky F1.

“And if a dry line shows up, maybe even to the end on a soft tire. So we balanced between pit stops, very conservative in the fight with Leclerc and Perez on the track for P3 or risking a bit, but either winning or finishing third.

“But when we saw Leclerc crash and Lewis then break off, it was clear that we wouldn’t make it to the end.”

Despite what would later be the ideal pit stop that Hamilton dropped behind Perez and Leclerc, Wolff believes it was worth trying something better for his team – and said there would be no hint of his strategists when it came to possibly lost points went.

“We have never had any problems and there is plenty of time to discuss them here and on the flight,” he said. “But it is clear that you only have a limited amount of information in the car and overall I think it was worth trying today.”

Wolff accepts that in retrospect it would have been better to quit earlier – possibly when the idea was first discussed between the pit wall and Hamilton.

“The right decision would probably have been to take it very conservatively and pit it when everyone pitted for the intermediate stage, came out behind Perez, probably behind Leclerc, and then battled them for P3 on the way,” he said.

“That would have been the right choice, but that can only be done in retrospect after the race.”