Wolff: Ricciardo took us by surprise

Toto Wolff, Mercedes Motorsport director, admitted that his team was taken by surprise by Red Bull's effective strategy which almost cost Nico Rosberg victory.

Published on 19/09/2016 à 10:47

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By making a third stop at the Singapore Grand Prix, Daniel Ricciardo offered himself a chance of victory against Nico Rosberg. The strategy of Red Bull took Mercedes by surprise, the German then no longer having enough lead to pass through the pits one last time.

“I don’t know exactly how far behind Daniel (Ricciardo) was before he stopped, but he suddenly did some wonderful laps and quickly came back. We had no choice but to reach the finish line.”, has explained Toto wolff, the executive chairman of Mercedes Motorsport.

“We did not foresee such a scenario because our forecast indicated that (Rosberg) would still have a lead of seven seconds if he stopped, said the Austrian. Daniel regained 3”5 in two or three laps and we understood that our lead was no longer enough. It was a kind of awakening. We had to decide whether to pit and attack or stay on track and be conservative with the tires and brakes to maintain position and that's what we chose to do. »

Singapore Grand Prix results

Discover the analysis of the Singapore Grand Prix carried out by our special correspondents in issue 2081 of AUTOhebdo, available from Monday evening in digital version on all platforms, and from Wednesday on newsstands.