Mercedes Motorsport boss Toto Wolff has insisted that he will not be “negligent” in implementing compensation strategies for his drivers simply by entertaining Formula 1 fans.
With Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas on the front row of the grid for Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix, and with both starting on the medium tire, aside from the rain that season the show, there is little hope of an exciting battle for the lead. .
Suggested to Wolff that the scrapping of the 2014 Bahrain Grand Prix between Hamilton and teammate Nico Rosberg was a possible way forward, when the pair had opposing strategies that produced an exciting wheel-to-wheel fight, the Austrian explained why that it would not happen in this case.
“We know what happened in 2014, and it was a very unpleasant year for us,” Wolff said, referring to the bitterness that developed between Hamilton and Rosberg as their fight intensified. “We all love Bahrain, but it intensified even more.”
“When you look back on the last six and a half years, we’ve been fortunate enough to win six constructors ‘championships and six drivers’ championships, so from that point of view, what we have done in terms of strategy was not wrong.”
“One could argue, is it the right thing for the show to provide entertainment? I’m not sure I can answer this question.
“We are at a stage in the season where, on the third race weekend and there are probably 15 more to go, I would not take it easy.”
“I don’t want to make a decision here that could be negligent, throw valuable points and find myself in a position where Red Bull comes back strong at the end of the season, and we’ve been a bit silly and accommodating.
“In that sense, I am not saying no to alternative career strategies. I am not sure I want to deploy this tomorrow in Hungary.”
While Wolff has a discussion about such a possibility, he will at least allow his drivers to compete against each other if the opportunity allows, although such a show may be rare given how notoriously difficult it is to overtake at the Hungaroring.
“The pilots have always been free to compete with each other, but fighting with competitors meant that we did not want to analyze one or the other pilot executing compensation strategies,” added Wolff.
“It may come to a point, that to protect career wins, we will do that, but that would be different from what we have done in the past. For now, we will stick to what we have always done.” ”
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