Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff issued a heartfelt apology to Lewis Hamilton following a disastrous qualifying session at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The seven-time world champion, set to depart Mercedes for Ferrari, was eliminated in Q1 after a Haas car part became lodged under his vehicle, severely impacting his downforce.
“I just need to apologize to Lewis,” Wolff told Sky Sports F1. “Also to everyone in the team that worked so hard to make it a great end for him. He was the quicker guy with that kind of setup that we chose on the car – also to experiment for next year – and we totally let him down.”
Wolff described the incident as “an idiotic mistake” and expressed deep regret for the setback, particularly given it was Hamilton’s final qualifying session with the team.
“I’ve rarely been so down about what has happened. Maybe it summarizes the last races we had with him, but this is the worst part of it because it was just idiotic,” he lamented.
While acknowledging that both Mercedes drivers encountered traffic during qualifying, Wolff emphasized that Hamilton had overcome those challenges.
“I think we were lucky that both of them (Russell and Hamilton) wrestled their way through the other traffic and maybe without the bollard it would have worked,” he said.
“But you don’t risk so much in a Q1 where we had easily the pace to make it out and our most valuable racing driver ever – the most valuable and greatest driver of this sport – gets out in Q1 because we make a mistake. A dilettante mistake, and that’s just…it doesn’t ruin all the legacy that we have with him, but I can only say sorry to him.”
Hamilton will start the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix from 18th position.
