Wolff identifies Mercedes’ main weakness despite Hamilton pole

Hamilton stunned Max Verstappen by beating the Red Bull driver to pole at the Hungaroring by just 0.003s with an extraordinary effort on his very last lap of qualifying.

It marked the seven-time world champion’s first pole since the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, and only the second time Mercedes have topped qualifying since the start of 2022. 

“Clearly we have a package today that was competitive and Lewis just drove an amazing lap and put it on pole. I think that’s something we can be really proud of,” Wolff said after qualifying. 

“The biggest weakness we have in the car is not a lack of downforce, it is that the car is unpredictable. 

“The drivers never have the confidence to really push it hard in qualifying and I think the car they had today was something that gave confidence and allowed them to push without thinking that it could step out on the entrance or exit of the corner. 

“I think this is the main area we need to work on, giving them a car balance that is more predictable.”

Wolff described the fluctuating performance with the new generation of F1 cars as an “enigma”, citing Alfa Romeo’s surprising qualifying showing as the latest proof of dramatic swings in the pecking order. 

“I think there is a certainly a part of these ground effect cars that is an enigma. Performances seem to come and go for all the teams,” he explained. 

“Congratulations to Alfa, they are fifth and seventh on the grid today and I don’t think they understand where that came from. 

“So Red Bull seems the only one that has really unlocked it and understand what happened, and maybe McLaren now. But this is not something that you can reverse engineer. 

“This is something that you have got to work at to come to the right conclusions. That has been the characteristic of the car: the loose rear end and the lack of confidence.”

Asked if Mercedes can replicate Saturday’s performance at other circuits, Wolff replied: “I think this needs better understanding. 

“We have been able to pull out a great performance today with one car and maybe the second car would have been there, who knows. 

“But you don’t praise the day before the evening, and I think we need to consolidate that and that’s the tricky bit.”