Mercedes, a Monaco GP to forget
No one thought Monaco would be a good stage to truly test the upgrade package debuted at Imola, but even the most pessimistic Mercedes fans likely didn’t expect such a disappointing weekend through the narrow streets of the Principality. One certainty is that team principal Toto Wolff never imagined spending almost the entire race with both cars stuck behind the two Williams, trapped by the ruthless strategy of his former right-hand man James Vowles, now team principal at Grove.
James Vowles’ text to Toto Wolff
Wolff commented on the aggressive Williams strategy, which involved slowing the group by rotating positions to secure a double points finish. He revealed that he received an apology message during the race from his friend James Vowles: “Yes, it’s all in a message. During the race he wrote me, ‘I’m sorry but we had no choice given what happened up front’. I replied, ‘I know, but I appreciate your words’. James is one of my guys, and I don’t want to sound paternalistic because he now has his own career as a team principal, but he’s doing really well. He had to act that way, he couldn’t have done otherwise because he needed to get both cars into the points.”
George Russell’s penalty
“I think the whole issue was triggered by Racing Bulls,” the Mercedes boss added, “who slowed down the group. Russell’s penalty? He got two points on his license, but Williams’ decision to slow things down knocked us out of the race. We saw Kimi nearly crash into one of the Williams under braking, because they were over five seconds per lap slower. Even with George there was a similar situation — the braking points were different, and he struggled to stop the car, so he simply went straight. I also think there was a certain level of frustration that led him to try something different.”
“We knew a penalty would come — maybe a Stop & Go, but we were hoping for ten seconds. Either way, it wouldn’t have changed anything,” Toto Wolff concluded.
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