Wolff slams Hamilton's underperforming car as 'a nasty piece of work'

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff slams Lewis Hamilton’s underperforming car as ‘a nasty piece of work’ after the seven-time world champion’s dismal season sank to a new low by qualifying 13th for Miami Grand Prix

  • Hamilton went out in Q3 and will start Sunday’s race from 13th place
  • Sergio Perez took pole position after a dramatic qualifying session in Miami
  • Charles Leclerc crashed late on, leaving Max Verstappen down in ninth place 

Toto Wolff was at a loss to explain the continued woes of the underperforming Mercedes, calling the car that carried Lewis Hamilton to a lowly 13th qualifying position for the Miami Grand Prix ‘a nasty piece of work’.

The Silver Arrows boss is hoping an upgrade due in Imola on May 17 will deliver some significant improvement, but for now the mood at the once-dominant team is low.

While Sergio Perez took pole for Red Bull, Hamilton’s team-mate George Russell qualified sixth, nearly a second off the pace.

A perplexed Wolff said: ‘The car is a nasty piece of work. We have no comprehension of why. I take no joy in being sixth. It is unacceptable.’

Wolff, who is clearly trying to defend the underperformance of his star man Hamilton, said: ‘There is not a lot to say to Lewis because the car is simply not fast enough. Putting him in a situation on his out lap where the driver is not able to prepare his tyres makes it even worse.

Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton qualified a lowly 13th for the Miami Grand Prix

Hamilton was outperformed by his team-mate George Russell, who qualified sixth

Toto Wolff was lost to explain the continued woes of the underperforming Mercedes

‘We are not trying to make mistakes. We are trying to give them the best position, and we have in the past got it wrong many times, and also got it right many times. But if things go badly they compound the situation.

‘The car is not a nice one, not a good car. There are problems everywhere, with the base performance and our lack of understanding of the car. The performance is just really bad.

‘The car is not bouncing on the straight. That is the only thing that is better than last year. The car is not fast enough and we don’t have any comprehension of why that is.’

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