Toto Wolff says Hamilton penalty too harsh

Feelings were undoubtedly mixed for Mercedes et Toto wolff yesterday evening at the arrival of the first Grand Prix of the 2020 season in Austria. On the one hand, Valtteri Bottas offered himself a great victory by dominating the event from start to finish, but on the other, Lewis Hamilton missed a podium finish due to a penalty received during the race.

The Briton was sanctioned for contact with Alex Albon (Red Bull) at turn 4, the Thai going into the gravel trap after trying to pass the world champion from the outside.

A 5″ penalty on the race time which causes the ex-driver to lose third place McLaren, second under the checkered flag, but ultimately 4th in the standings just behind Lando Norris (McLaren). This sanction was not to the taste of the Mercedes boss.

“It wasn't a good day for Lewis with the two penalties, confesses Wolff. The grid penalty is something you have to take, but the five second penalty was too harsh in my opinion.

I watched the video several times: Lewis was at a steering stop, Albon had room to take the corner, so in my opinion it was not justified. But I recognize that the commissioners have a very complex job to do to make the right decisions and sometimes these decisions go in your direction, sometimes against. »

The Austrian manager also details the problems which affected the two W11s on the Spielberg track, and which greatly worried the management of the team which has been so dominant in recent years.

“We faced real challenges with our gearbox in the race, comments Wolff. The situation was quite serious: we saw problems on Valtteri's car very early on and a little later on Lewis' car.

It was something that could end the race instantly. We know that this was linked to the vibrations of the car, which is why we asked both drivers not to go over the kerbs.

At one point it looked like none of our cars would finish the race, so we were trying to finish and really take care of our cars. » Wolff believes Mercedes has some work to do to try to resolve the issue ahead of this weekend's Styrian Grand Prix in Austria.

Discover the full report and analysis of the Austrian Grand Prix, produced by our special correspondent in Spielberg, in issue 2268 of AUTOhebdo, available this evening in digital version and this Wednesday on newsstands.