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Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has defended Ferrari following the Monaco Grand Prix. The Maranello-based team has come under fire after Sebastian Vettel won the race despite Kimi Raikkonen taking pole position and leading the first half of the race.
When it came to the pit stop phase, Raikkonen pitted first which allowed Vettel to break into clean air and set multiple fast laps. When he made his stop a number of laps after Raikkonen, he emerged in the lead. It has been suggested that Ferrari had used this strategy to give Vettel maximum points in the championship, as he is their clear leading man.
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Wolff has sympathised with them, stating they went through similar situations from 2014 to 2016 when Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg went head to head for the title in what was three intense but successful years for Mercedes.
"It was a fair result for the team and the drivers," he is said to Italy's Tuttosport. "Now they are in the same position that we found ourselves in so often -- trying to explain why one driver won and not the other. They really deserved it: they had the fastest car so we can only congratulate them."
Fergal Walsh
Azerbaijan Grand Prix
C. Sainz jr
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Replies (2)
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Posts: 185
If Vettel went faster when in clear air, he was obviously being held up by Raikkonen. End of story.
Wolfgang
Posts: 313
Quite astonishing how the english press (SKY), or even Lewis Hamilton shouted at Ferrari afterwards. Now Mr. Wolff tries to calm everyone down.. :-)
The fun thing is that no one from Ferrari or Red Bull made such a fuss in the last years if Merc did something like that in order to favour one of their drivers (Lewis).
Take Bahrain 2017 for example with Bottas.. or Spain 2017 where Merc sacrificed Bottas in order to favour Hamilton..
Or last year Hamilton and Rosberg in Monaco. Ricciardo lost the race in Monaco after Mercs "Team-Order". No one at Red Bull neither the british press said something about that although they lost the race because of that. Instead of this year Monaco: Merc was nowhere near a race win but they cried like the big ones afterwards.
It just shows who the big badmouthing party in the current f1 scene is, it´s the British Press (because of lewis, obviously), Mercedes and Mister Lewis Hamilton himself. (a person who not only once benefitted from team-orders in the last few years). Did you hear Bottas complaining after Bahrain in that way Lewis did after Monaco although he wasn´t even involved?
The ones that are now crying the loudest are those persons who take team orders with the greatest pleasure.