The Mercedes drivers were quite far apart in the Friday training report in Sao Paulo: George Russell showed third fastest time, Lewis Hamilton – 12th. But at the same time they were not running on soft tires at all. Team leader Toto Wolff commented on these results…
Toto Wolff: “It is still difficult to judge anything. For example, we haven’t seen what Max Verstappen is capable of since Red Bull decided to spare Medium tires – I wonder why? Although this will give them more freedom to choose tactics in the future. And the difference in the results between our drivers is explained by the fact that Lewis lost six tenths in the first two corners of the lap, but overall they showed the same pace. And he’s quite reassuring.
Discussions are currently underway with Stefano Domenicali, the president of Formula 1, about the possibility of moving qualifying prior to the sprint (sprint shootout) from Saturday to Friday. Obviously the decision depends on him and then the main qualifying for the race will take place on Saturday at two o’clock, we already know that.
Maybe this weekend routine will cause less confusion among fans. Otherwise I get confused myself and don’t immediately remember which session will be next. Today we have to qualify for the Grand Prix, right?
I believe that Formula 1 management and the teams have common goals. Personally, I often say that I don’t like the program of these weekends at all, but if they are useful because they give extra attention to the audience, then of course we should do them.”
Wolff also commented on the departure of Mike Elliott, now the team’s former technical director, from Mercedes, which was announced on Wednesday: “Mike has been one of my most effective employees for years and we will miss him because he is one of the smartest people in all of motorsport. He had a very high workload and I love that the person says, “Maybe I should change jobs instead of doing the same thing.”
If there are problems with a car, if it is not fast enough, it is not an individual’s fault. Likewise, making a car faster requires the efforts of more than one person. I think we have a very powerful organization, and you can remove anyone from the structure, but the rest will immediately close the gap. “I don’t think there will be any major changes in preparation for next year now that Mike is gone.”
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
