Lewis Hamilton finishes behind the two Mercedes drivers Kimi Antonelli and George Russell in China – a result that makes team boss Toto Wolff joke
Mercedes youngster Andrea Kimi Antonelli secured pole position for the Chinese Grand Prix last Saturday, ahead of his team-mate George Russell and former Mercedes star Lewis Hamilton. A qualifying result that visibly delighted team boss Toto Wolff in particular.
“I actually thought for a moment that we had three cars,” joked the Austrian in a short video that Mercedes posted on social media on Saturday after he had looked at the time monitor: “First, second and third. I’ll have to get used to that.”
In response to a comment from the background that one of the three drivers was now wearing a red racing suit, Wolff replied with a grin: “Still our driver.” With this, the Mercedes team boss triggered a huge wave of enthusiasm among the fans.
“Toto Wolff is simply my type. His affection for Lewis is genuine,“ wrote one user under the video, followed by another fan: ”Toto is a great personality … He is becoming a true legend of our sport.” Lewis Hamilton won a total of six of his seven world championship titles together with Wolff at Mercedes.
Hamilton celebrates “with his whole family”
“I have been so closely associated with Mercedes throughout my career,” recalls Hamilton. “They’ve supported me practically from the beginning, since 1997, when I was 13 years old.” After a few difficult years, the Silver Arrows are now back at the top.
“George and I also had some difficult years in the last era, so it’s really special to see them back at the top because it’s a phenomenal team,” added the Ferrari driver. “And I know we still have a lot of work to do to beat them, because in this form they are difficult to beat.”
But Hamilton didn’t want to think about that at all in the post-race press conference when he was sitting there with Antonelli and Russell. “And then Bono, who I’ve worked with for so long,” the Briton recalled of his long-time race engineer Peter Bonnington. “It’s like sitting here with my whole family. That’s great.”
“A very special moment” for Antonelli too
For race winner Antonelli, it was also “incredible” to share the podium with Russell and Hamilton because “George comes from the Junior Academy like me and is part of the family,” said the Italian. “Lewis has made history with Mercedes, and that’s obviously great for Mercedes.”
“I think it was a very special moment for all of us,” added Antonelli. Team-mate Russell was also satisfied: “If we could choose who we share the podium with, it would probably be each other,” said the championship leader.
“I had the privilege of being teammates with Lewis for several years and learned an incredible amount in the process,” said the Briton. “And now I’ve been Kimi’s team-mate for just over a year and I can see his development. He’s an incredibly talented driver and will definitely make life difficult for me this year.“
That’s why it was ”very special“ and ”nice” for Russell to be up there with Antonelli and Hamilton. A sight that must not have touched Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff either, as he showed with his video after qualifying on Saturday.
“Toto knows you can change the livery, but you can’t overwrite 12 years of performance,” wrote one user, followed by further comments: “That hurts me a bit. Miss the Mercedes family“, ”Hamilton is always part of the Mercedes family“ or ”Wolff is like a proud older brother.”