Toto Wolff now has a catalogue of interesting statements post-race in Italy, with the Mercedes team principal speaking openly. The 51-year-old believes that Lewis Hamilton is the only driver who admits to their mistakes in F1.
Hamilton spent his opening stint at the Italian GP in tyre conservation mode, extending his stint on the hard tyres before making a stop for mediums.
His late charge up the field required overtaking Oscar Piastri, who struggled with a lack of straight-line speed at the Monza circuit.
The 7-time Champion made contact with Piastri at the end of sector 1, moving across to the right under braking and squeezing the young McLaren driver.
A 5-second penalty was swiftly applied by the FIA, forcing Hamilton to pass Lando Norris and Alex Albon to secure a 6th-place result.
Whilst this sanction complicated his afternoon, the Mercedes driver agreed with its application.
Toto Wolff argues that only the Briton possesses this quality in Formula 1:
“He’s very sportsmanlike with these things. He is the only one I see out there admitting and saying: ‘I got this wrong’.
“That kind of sportsmanship is what you need to admire with him,” racingnews365 quotes him as saying.
“Pretty much everyone is always complaining and moaning, just to try not to get a penalty.”
The merit of Wolff’s assessment will undoubtedly be scrutinised, especially given his other recent comments.
Regardless of the dialogue on this topic, Mercedes have a significant task ahead of them – returning to the F1 Championship battle.
Among other things, the off-track controversies sparked by Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff can be traced to a lack of on-track performance.
Though it is unnecessary to fixate on this observation overly, Mercedes is depending on a successful winter of development.
Without a car capable of winning the World title, the German constructor faces another season where they can only upset their old rivals with off-track provocations.
Author: Jaden Diaz-Ndisang
