The Mercedes camp is enjoying a brave comeback after months of misery. Since the introduction of ground effect regulations, the Silver Arrows have seemed off-color. However, its color palette has been refurbished in the past few weeks. The rainbow re-emerged for the Brackley-based outfit after a storm when George Russell won the Austrian GP. Later, in front of the home crow, Lewis Hamilton won a record-breaking 104th race after 945 days.
The Briton didn’t wait long to extend that tally to 105 during the latest Belgian GP. Although the crew’s reaction to the race was ambivalent, the W15 is arguably among the fastest F1 cars at present. Despite the resurgence, Mercedes was about to issue a team order during a close encounter with rivals in Belgium.
Toto Wolff Explains Mercedes’ Consideration Of Team Orders At The Belgian GP
The Belgian GP kickstarted with the Mercedes duo in the front row. Despite being a low-drag circuit, the Three-Pointed Star squad was ready for the challenge. After making some circuit-specific changes, the team was confident of a favorable outcome. Although Russell crossed the finish line a few seconds ahead of his teammate, the youngster was robbed of the victory due to a technical failure by the team. It was an intense competition, as Hamilton was always in the DRS zone, trailing Russell by a few meters. Meanwhile, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was resolute, taking long strides towards the front runners. Toto Wolff indicated that he would have issued a team order if the race had continued longer. During a media interaction, the 52-year-old executive highlighted that the team might have considered issuing a team order if there had been one more lap.
However, Wolff was happy as soon as the race was over, as he breathed a sigh of relief after a cutthroat competition. Ultimately, Hamilton finished second, and Piastri was a spot behind him in third. Eventually, both improved one place after Russell’s disqualification. The Young British racer was stripped of a fantastic victory as his W15 was 1.5 kgs lighter than FIA’s standards.
Moreover, Toto Wolff explained the reason behind the disparity in the strategy used by the British duo. Discussing Hamilton’s two-stop strategy, Wolff said it was due to the chasing paks, who used a similar tactic. Further, he lauded the strategy as correct as it was the reason for the seven-time world champion finally clinching the win.
Hamilton Was Not ‘Vocal Enough’ To Raise Concern Against A Faulty Pit-Stop Strategy
Lewis Hamilton expressed his disappointment after the race. He pointed out the fault in Mercedes’ two-stop strategy while his teammate used a one-stop tactic. However, Lewis was not vocal about it during the race because of his rivals.
The 39-year-old racer was more focused on countering the rivals’ dive bombs, so he was unable to reassess his strategy. Irrespective of the tactic, the Briton yet again emerged victorious on a tricky track in Spa.