Wolff and Allison: “Hamilton was the difference maker”

Those responsible for Mercedes en Formula 1 were not mistaken: the 2018 world champion title awarded to Lewis Hamilton on Sunday at the Mexican Grand Prix constitutes a major achievement. The Briton is in fact the third driver to obtain a fifth title, surpassed only by Juan Manuel Fangio in the 1950s and Michael Schumacher 2000 early years.

To Toto wolff, “Lewis was the element that made the difference this season”, pointing out the deficiencies of its car. “Sometimes our car was the best of all, but not always. Sometimes, like Sunday, the Mercedes was only third fastest (behind the Red Bull and Ferrari. Editor’s note)More Lewis' performance has been extremely consistent. His work in the race was absolutely brilliant. »

Countless laps, races, fights and victories: time to take a shower, Lewis! Congratulations to your 5th F1 championship. What a milestone. #HiFive pic.twitter.com/8Iqm3z2m8V

- Mercedes-Benz (@MercedesBenz) October 28, 2018

The Austrian executive director is full of praise for his English protégé. “This has always been one of his strengths, but this year it has become one of the key factors in his success. Normally you don't recognize the greatness of an athlete until their career is over, but we need to step back to recognize this fantastic situation. »

Also coordinator of the triumph of Lewis Hamilton in 2018, the technical director of the Flèches d’Argent James allison did not hesitate to describe the success of number 44 as “one of the greatest performances in F1, who will go down in the history of this sport. This season pushed us all to our limits, because our car did not always have the pace to be in first place. »

However, the engineer does not forget the average performance recorded in Mexico, where Lewis Hamilton finished fourth, ahead of his teammate Valtteri Bottas. “We don’t want to drag our feet with results like Sunday’s. We are going to try to start again in Brazil and to win from the first row in style. »

Discover the full report and analysis of the Mexican Grand Prix, produced by our special correspondents in Mexico City, in issue 2189 of AUTOhebdo, available tomorrow evening in digital version, and from this Wednesday on newsstands.