An inconsolable Toto Wolff was furious with himself and the Mercedes team after a series of poor decisions led to Lewis Hamilton’s Q1 elimination at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The Brit was sent out late for his final effort of the session and reached the line to start his lap with mere seconds remaining. This was a result of a rushed preparation lap, which cost him critical time.
Some bad luck played a role in Hamilton’s premature Q1 exit too. He collected a bollard turfed up by Kevin Magnussen in sector three, which in turn got lodged in the underbody of his W15.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after qualifying, a furious Wolff said: “I want to apologise to Lewis and to everyone in the team who worked so hard to make it a great end for him.
“We have totally let him down, an idiotic mistake of not going out earlier. Inexcusable. Inexcusable. I have rarely been so down about what has happened. Maybe it summarises the last races we had with him but this is the worst.
“It was just idiotic. Maybe without the bollard, it would have worked but you don’t risk so much in a Q1 where we had easily the pace to get out of it.
“Our most valuable racing driver ever, the greatest driver of this sport gets knocked out in Q1 because we made a mistake. That doesn’t ruin the legacy we have with him but I can only say sorry to him. We would have had a real go for a podium and now it’s pretty much impossible.”
Hamilton, who was classified in P18 but will gain places due to penalties for Charles Leclerc and Alex Albon, smiled through his frustrations. “Just my luck but it’s OK,” he said. “We tried so hard with the setup and we got the car in a great place and was looking good, I was thinking ‘maybe a podium is possible this weekend’.
“The car has been feeling decent. To go from P1/P2 to then be 18th definitely changes the weekend but I am still trying to be really present. The car has been completely different this weekend, so much better to drive. So my hopes are high. I will try and come back.”
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