Toto Wolff: “Ferrari had the fastest car”

The punch of Toto wolff on the table when Sebastian Vettel came out of his pit stop in front of the Red Bull de Max Verstappen and especially the Mercedes de Lewis Hamilton can sum up much of the Australian Grand Prix.

With an anticipated passage to the pits compared to its rival in the Team Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton had to overtake Max Verstappen to hope to retain control of the race against the quadruple German world champion, at the wheel of a car very lively Italian in Melbourne. A lost bet for the Briton and Mercedes, who were then unable to catch up with the new leader.

“In some races you win, in some others you lose, and when the days come when another team has done a better job, you have to accept that with humility and recognize their performance, believes Toto Wolff.

Today, Sebastian and Ferrari deserved their victory. From the early stages of the race it was clear that Sebastian was very fast because Lewis was not able to escape. Sebastian entered the window where the undercut was possible and we had the impression at that point that the tires would not last.

That was the team's impression on the pit wall looking at the data and that of Lewis in the car as well. It was at that moment, with all the obvious risks of going out in traffic, that we made the decision to return. But Ferrari played very well and they had the faster car today. »

Reversing the trend in China

Despite this defeat, qualified by the double podium of the two Silver Arrows of Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas for his first Grand Prix with Mercedes, the reigning three-time world champions intend to return to their usual place at the next meeting in China.

“We will not panic, insists James Allison, the new technical director of Mercedes, who was able to appreciate the performance of his former Ferrari team. It’s the first race of a long season and we scored very important points with both cars.

We are determined to come back stronger in China and ensure that these small margins swing in our favor next time. »

Discover the full report and analysis of the Australian Grand Prix, produced by our special correspondents in Melbourne, in issue 2107 of AUTOhebdo, available this evening in digital version and this Wednesday on newsstands.