Wolff: Hamilton driving "in a league of his own" with 88th F1 win

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says Lewis Hamilton is driving in “a league of his own” after winning his fourth race of the 2020 Formula 1 season at the Spanish Grand Prix.

Hamilton dominated proceedings at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya as he claimed an 88th career victory - just three behind Michael Schumacher’s all-time record of 91.

Hamilton also broke Schumacher’s record for podium finishes in F1 - 156 in 256 starts for the Mercedes driver; 155 in 306 starts for Schumacher.

Reflecting on yet another Mercedes victory, Wolff heaped praise on Hamilton for his performance but also for his in-race strategy calls with the Brit forcing Mercedes to stop him for medium tyres, rather than softs in the final stint. 

“At the moment he drives in a league of his own - I must really say,” Wolff said. “Totally under control. Switching back the engine to save some mileage for races that are more difficult. The most special thing for me was at the end we were ready to put soft tyres on his car because there were not a lot of laps left and it was the logic choice, but he said ‘ don’t give me the soft, give me the medium’. 

“You can see that lost Valtteri’s [Bottas] race. We put the soft on Valtteri, logically he’d catch up on Verstappen and overtake - at least you’re in the fight but the tyre had no grip.”

Unlike in last weekend’s 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone, Mercedes didn’t have issues in terms of tyre management or blistering.

Wolff said the most pleasing thing this weekend - besides the win - is his team’s ability to bounce back from setbacks and issues, and how it rectifies them quickly. 

“What makes me the most happy is that after a difficult weekend in Silverstone on a very hot tarmac we’ve been able to recover, take the right conclusions and win in the same conditions - and that comes down to the great work that’s been done in the factory from the vehicle dynamic teams, the simulation guys,” Wolff added.

“I mean everyone from the engineering side that was involved. It shows the strength of the team.”