Toto Wolff said he thought Mercedes would fly past McLaren after the safety car at the 2023 British Grand Prix, where Lando Norris held onto second ahead of Lewis Hamilton.
Hamilton jumped Oscar Piastri in the pit stop phase aided by the safety car timing, and on soft tyres with both McLarens on hards, he looked set to take second place from Norris with George Russell also bearing down on Piastri.
However, that wasn’t the case and Hamilton had to settle for third while Piastri held on for a career-best fourth.
“To be honest, when the safety car was deployed I was pretty sure if not convinced that we will be eating up the McLaren and finish with a P2 and P3 or maybe even challenge at the front,” Wolff told the media. “So you see just how strong the car was.
“We had a go in the first few laps but they both raced very strong with their efficiency and top speed through the high-speed corners and on the straight there was just no way in passing them. So that came as a surprise.”
Mercedes maximised results
Despite his hopes for the team against McLaren, Wolff insisted he thought Mercedes had done the best they could at the British GP.
The McLarens looked on course for a comfortable double-podium until the safety car, which backfired on Piastri who’d barely put a foot wrong up until then.
However, compared to the pessimism after qualifying when Mercedes could only manage sixth and seventh, the jump up the grid is still a solid one as they took a major points advantage over Aston Martin and Ferrari.
“Overall I think this result is solid,” Wolff added. “I’m happy for Lewis‘ podium and both drivers drove to the maximum of the car. So P3 and P5 is ok.
“We have the resurgence of McLaren who were not competitive at the beginning of the year, it’s good to see because that means if you’re making the right decisions your car can jump up by a huge amount.
“On the other side I don’t know what happened to Aston Martin and Ferrari made a step backwards.”
