Toto Wolff: “The feeling of not being sufficiently armed”

What do you think of the commissioners’ decisions?

They are in a very uncomfortable position. It’s very difficult to find the right solution, it’s not easy. I already have enough things to take care of on my end that I don't want to deal with Michael Masi's business. The competition was very fierce on the track, the yellow line may have been crossed.

We have seen in recent years that the young people arriving are a little more aggressive. This type of maneuver can end in a wall if no one decides to give up and take their foot off the gas. And in this scenario, the driver who is aiming for a sixth world title has withdrawn from the fight. He saved Charles and saved himself.

Lewis was instrumental in not creating an incident. But what do you ultimately want to do? Give a 5 second penalty to the Ferrari lead at Monza? Out of the question. We would have needed a police escort to leave the circuit!

In your opinion, could the use of the black and white flag lead to incitement to touching?

I do think we're going to see more contact. It will end in collisions and we will go backwards. In the meantime, we let them get away with it. Drivers always look out for their own interests and will never go so far as to ruin their race.

You are limiting the damage on two tracks which were not favorable to you…

We knew we didn't have the optimal package for Spa and Monza. I was already happy to start 2nd and 3rd on the grid and I said then that I would be happy to finish in these positions. Now we are competitors, the joy is not complete after a race like this.

You try to follow a car with the DRS wide open and you can't catch up on a huge straight. You feel like you are not sufficiently armed. Afterwards, I don't want to take anything away from the performance of Ferrari and Charles. They had the best package and can rely on a young talent who does not hesitate to jostle.

Have you used the engine modes more cautiously given the problems encountered with your customer teams?

We were not using less powerful engine modes. We didn't hold back. We used them as intended.

Valtteri Bottas Was he too timid at the end of the race?

It looks like he's in trouble in the wake of another car. Lewis is more comfortable and able to try something. Valtteri needs to work in this area but if I focus on the positive it doesn't take away from his very good race. He was very fast, perhaps the fastest in pure performance.

Charles had Lewis behind him for many laps. And if even the best driver on the field isn't able to attempt something, you can imagine how complicated it is.

How do you explain the choice of medium tires instead of hard ones?

We discussed the possibility of running on hard tires in the morning. You've only seen this rubber on Charles' car. In free practice, the hard tire was not in the right window on the long runs. Today it was warmer so this eraser worked better.

The medium tire was the best option because we were able to stay snuggled in Leclerc's box for laps. We had excellent pace. We just lacked top speed.

Given your lead at the championships, are you tempted to look towards 2020?

We remain very focused on 2019. We have a good lead in both championships, it’s true but that can turn around quickly; two, three bad weekends in a row and you're in trouble. You should never take anything for granted. On paper, the Singapore route suits us much better and Red Bull but I am convinced that Ferrari will have a better package than in Hungary because they understand their car better.

Discover the full report and analysis of the Italian Grand Prix, produced by our special correspondents in Monza, in issue 2233 of AUTOhebdo, available this evening in digital version and this Wednesday on newsstands.