Toto Wolff stated that Max Verstappen was too fast for the Mercedes team during the Sprint Qualifying at the Red Bull Ring.
The weekend has begun, and it is Red Bull’s home race for the third Sprint weekend of the season. The Mercedes team faced tough competition from their rivals heading into this weekend. However, Verstappen managed to outperform everyone else and secure pole position for the Sprint race. Now, Toto Wolff, the team boss of Mercedes, has admitted that the Silver Arrows lacked speed compared to the 26-year-old driver.
To start, the Austrian billionaire expressed his happiness to be at his home race for the season. He also mentioned that Mercedes was confident in their ability to challenge Verstappen for pole position in the Sprint Qualifying.
However, Wolff confessed that the reigning world champion was simply too fast for them during the session. Verstappen pushed himself to the limit and took Sprint pole. Wolff also acknowledged the impressive performance of McLaren, who were right behind Verstappen.
Lewis Hamilton had a disappointing outing on Friday. The seven-time world champion couldn’t match the pace of Verstappen or the two McLarens. Wolff attributed Hamilton’s poor start to a moment where he went off-track, describing it as a “rally-like lap” that ended his chances for the session.
Furthermore, Wolff stated that the Sprint race on Saturday is unlikely to have much on-track action. He believes that the race results will probably reflect the positions from Sprint Qualifying, as drivers will avoid taking risks to preserve their cars for the main race’s qualifying session.
Undoubtedly, Toto Wolff’s team has work to do after Sprint Qualifying. Hamilton and Russell will be aiming to make progress in the Sprint race on Saturday. However, they face a challenging task in trying to defeat the likes of Verstappen and throughout the weekend.