© Sebastian Kawka for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix ltd.
Toto Wolff says “our most valuable racing driver ever, the most valuable greatest driver of this sport, gets out in Q1 because we make a mistake”.
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Qualifying didn’t go well for Lewis Hamilton, as he got knocked out in Q1, and will be starting the race from P18.
During the session, Mercedes warned Lewis that he might struggle to start his final lap because of traffic and the time left on the clock, but he ultimately managed to cross the line in time.
However, he then ran into a bollard, which was knocked loose by Kevin Magnussen, and it got lodged under his car, which ruined any chances of getting out of Q1.
Afterwards, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff apologized to Lewis for what he considers to be the team’s mistake.
“I just need to apologize to Lewis,” the Austrian told Sky Sports.
“Also to everyone in the team that worked so hard in making it a great end for him. He was the quicker guy with the setup we chose on the car to experiment for next year. We totally let him down.
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“Idiotic mistake of not going earlier. Inexcusable, inexcusable. I’ve rarely been so down about what has happened.
“Maybe it summarizes the last races we’ve had with him but this is the worst part of it, because it was just idiotic.
“I think we were lucky that both of them wrestled their way through the other traffic. Maybe without the bollard it would have worked. You don’t risk so much in a Q1 where we easily had the pace to make it out there.
“Our most valuable racing driver ever, the most valuable greatest driver of this sport, gets out in Q1 because we make a mistake.
“It doesn’t ruin the legacy we had with him but I can only say sorry to him,” Wolff concluded.
