Underperformance Blues: Toto Wolff Slams Mercedes’ Qualifying Woes at Hungarian GP

Toto Wolff describes Mercedes' performance in Hungary F1 qualifying as a "complete failure"

“That was a complete failure from absolutely everyone involved.”

Toto Wolff expressed his dissatisfaction with Mercedes' approach to the qualifying session at the F1 Hungarian Grand Prix, calling it a "complete underachievement by everyone involved."

Mercedes witnessed George Russell being eliminated in Q1, making him one of the notable early exits in qualifying at the Hungaroring.

Although Russell initially had difficulty with speed, he was not present on the track when conditions improved at the end of the session.

In a close call, Lewis Hamilton barely advanced into the second qualifying session and ultimately clinched the fifth starting position for Sunday's race.

Nevertheless, Wolff appeared visibly frustrated with his team following the qualifying session in Hungary.

In an interview with Sky, he expressed his disappointment, stating, "Everyone involved did not meet expectations at all. It's unacceptable to have a car eliminated in Q1."

“The pairing of the driver and the team should not have occurred. Ultimately, we simply lacked speed. It was an extremely disheartening day.”

The primary problem revolved around the amount of fuel remaining in Russell's car by the conclusion of the session.

One of the initial drivers to hit the track after the red flag was Russell, but he soon made his way back to the pit lane.

This indicated that he, along with the two Alpine cars, were the sole vehicles not participating on the track at the conclusion of Q1.

Toto Wolff clarified that there was a misunderstanding regarding the strategy for Q1 involving Russell.

"I believe he should have completed the initial lap when Lewis secured P1," Wolff remarked. "He mentioned that he likely approached it too cautiously at that point."

"The other car didn't have enough fuel because we were following a different strategy. The plan involved alternating between fast and slow laps, but the driver opted to do three fast laps in a row. Ultimately, I believe the team is 70 percent at fault for not adding enough fuel for an extra lap."

Regarding Hamilton's performance in qualifying, he mentioned, "We might have been just two-tenths of a second behind, but the fluctuating tyre temperatures made it challenging to achieve the optimal balance to provide him with a car that had sufficient grip."

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