Furious Wolff Apologizes To Hamilton After Q1 Knockout: 'Inexcusable'

Saturday, 07 December 2024 at 21:00

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff was very disappointed after the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix qualifying as he apologized to Lewis Hamilton.

The 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is Lewis Hamilton's last race weekend with the Mercedes squad. Everyone within the German F1 team was focused on ensuring that the seven-time World Champion goes out on a high.

Yet, he got knocked out of Q1 after a strategic mistake and a very unlucky incident with a bollard getting stuck to the floor under his car.

Mercedes decided to put Hamilton on his final flying lap very late in the Q1, and with almost no time left, the 39-year-old was the last to cross the finish line right behind a slower Alpine.

Despite dirty air from the car in front, Hamilton still was fast enough to get into Q2 before the final sector, but then a loose bollard knocked out by Kevin Magnussen stuck to the floor right under his car and ruined his lap.

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Hamilton collects a stray bollard and gets bumped out of Q1 😖 #F1 AbuDhabiGP

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As a result, the British driver ultimately qualified in P18, and his hopes of finishing on the podium almost completely vanished.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the Grand Prix, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff expressed his frustration and disappointment as he apologized to his departing star F1 driver:

"I just need to apologise to Lewis. 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."

"Idiotic mistake not to go earlier. Inexcusable, inexcusable. I've rarely been so down about what has happened."

"Maybe it summarises the last races we've had with him, but this is the worst part of it because it was just idiotic."

The seven-time World Champion lost about two tenths in his final sector compared to his previous best and missed out on Q2 by 0,093 seconds.

"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."