Wolff praises Hamilton after "blistering lap" in qualifying

  • Published on 30 Sep 2017 13:58
  • comments 0
  • By: Fergal Walsh

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff was in full praise of Lewis Hamilton following qualifying for the Malaysian Grand Prix. The British driver produced a strong lap to claim the 70th pole of his career, and his ninth of the 2017 season.

Hamilton will start alongside the Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen tomorrow, as the Finn missed out on pole by the smallest of margins. Mercedes struggled during the first day of running yesterday, and even today, Wolff revealed that the car wasn't performing to its optimum.

"A blistering lap," he said. "He put it all together. But we are left with some confusion because our car wasn't good. We didn't put our tyres in the right window the whole weekend and when the temperatures dropped and the cloud came over, the car was very quick so we need some answers.

"Maybe we shouldn't underestimate the driving factor. These cars are tricky to drive and ramping it up until this final section is important and he has been improving his driving all through the weekend like he did in Singapore.

"We need to put the dots together to try and understand. I don't think it's the upgrade issue [for Valtteri]. I think we have a solid aero upgrade but we weren't sure. After P3 we decided that we didn't want to put Lewis on a completely new setup because this would be tricky. I think we are going to run it in Japan, all the data says it is good."

Hamilton himself admits he's surprised with the pace that his Silver Arrow showed during qualifying, and claims that he feels sorry for championship rival Sebastian Vettel, who will start the Grand Prix from last place after running into an engine issue.

"We had no idea what was going to happen today," said Hamilton. "It's a real surprise to be up here with these guys today but I'm really grateful. I'm sorry for what happened to Sebastian because obviously he was very quick through practice but somehow we turned it round."

 

Fergal Walsh

Replies (0)

Login to reply

BE Grand Prix of Belgium

Local time 22:02

BEGrand Prix of Belgium

Local time 22:02

World Championship standings 2025

Show full world champion standings

Test calendar

See full test schedule

Related news

Give your opinion!

Will Bottas challenge Hamilton for the world championship in 2020?

Formula 1 Calendar - 2025

Date
Grand Prix
Circuit
-
Bahrain
14 - Mar 16
Australia
21 - Mar 23
China
4 - Apr 6
Japan
11 - Apr 13
Bahrain
18 - Apr 20
Saudi Arabia
2 - May 4
United States of America
16 - May 18
Italy
23 - May 25
Monaco
30 - Jun 1
Spain
13 - Jun 15
Canada
27 - Jun 29
Austria
4 - Jul 6
United Kingdom
25 - Jul 27
Belgium
1 - Aug 3
Hungary
29 - Aug 31
Netherlands
5 - Sep 7
Italy
19 - Sep 21
Azerbaijan
3 - Oct 5
Singapore
17 - Oct 19
United States of America
24 - Oct 26
Mexico
7 - Nov 9
Brazil
21 - Nov 23
United States of America
28 - Nov 30
Qatar
5 - Dec 7
United Arab Emirates
See full schedule

Formula 1 Calendar - 2025

Date
Grand Prix & Circuit
14 - Mar 16
Australia Albert Park
21 - Mar 23
4 - Apr 6
11 - Apr 13
18 - Apr 20
Saudi Arabia Jeddah Street Circuit
2 - May 4
United States of America Miami International Autodrome
16 - May 18
23 - May 25
Monaco Monte Carlo
30 - Jun 1
13 - Jun 15
27 - Jun 29
Austria Red Bull Ring
4 - Jul 6
United Kingdom Silverstone
25 - Jul 27
1 - Aug 3
Hungary Hungaroring
29 - Aug 31
Netherlands Circuit Zandvoort
5 - Sep 7
Italy Monza
19 - Sep 21
Azerbaijan Baku City Circuit
3 - Oct 5
17 - Oct 19
United States of America Circuit of the Americas
24 - Oct 26
7 - Nov 9
Brazil Interlagos
21 - Nov 23
United States of America Las Vegas Street Circuit
28 - Nov 30
5 - Dec 7
United Arab Emirates Yas Marina Circuit
See full schedule

Driver profile

  • Team Ferrari
  • Points 3,430
  • Podiums 132
  • Grand Prix 215
  • Country United Kingdom
  • Date of b. Jan 7 1985 (40)
  • Place of b. Tewin, United Kingdom
  • Weight 68 kg
  • Length 1.74 m
Show full profile

Team profile

Show full profile
show sidebar