© Jiri Krenek for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff praised Lewis Hamilton for a “brilliantly executed” drive, but he also praised Red Bull for their “very courageous” strategy.
After the United States Grand Prix, Toto Wolff conceded it was impossible for his team to match Red Bull’s “very courageous” strategy.
“You could see the different strategies,” the Austrian explained.
“One team that went for the undercut out of necessity and a very courageous move because it was very early, and the second time again to their advantage.
“Max’s driving, particularly in the last stint, you could see that he had learned from the second stint not to damage the tyres too early because he had something left at the end.
“But on the contrary, we were just on the back foot because the car was just not fast enough in the first stint on the medium.
“We couldn’t have possibly gone for an earlier stop because based on the data we had on the medium, it didn’t look like we could finish the race at that stage with an early stop.”
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Toto was then asked if both title contenders were in top form today.
“Yeah, I think they were,” Wolff said.
“Lewis drove awesomely. He brought the tyre in, remained calm – even though we had a six-and-a-half, and at the second stop eight-and-a-half seconds to Max – increased the pace and at a certain stage, there was just a massive difference.
“That was brilliantly executed but just not close enough at the end. When you follow a car you start to suffer a bit and if we would have had two laps more, who knows?
“But it is what it is and you need to congratulate Red Bull for their stops,” concluded Mercedes’ team boss.
