Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff admits he’s “happy” Abu Dhabi marked the final qualifying session of the 2023 Formula 1 season amid its continued one-lap struggles.
Lewis Hamilton failed to advance to Q3 for the fourth time this season and the second consecutive round, having also wound up 11th fastest in Las Vegas last weekend.
The seven-time World Champion lamented that there was “something not right with this car” after lagging three-tenths behind team-mate George Russell, who knocked him out.
Wolff explained that Hamilton had “no grip” throughout qualifying at the Yas Marina Circuit, contributing to the substantial disparity between the two Mercedes drivers.
Meanwhile, George Russell impressed to capitalise on Lando Norris’ error in the dying stages of Q3 to split the McLaren drivers, claiming fourth place on the starting grid.
But with Russell topping the times in the daytime FP1 and FP3 practice hours, Wolff conceded an element of disappointment with Mercedes’ qualifying result.
“[Final practice] was even, I would say, dominant,” he told Sky F1. “Norris could have probably been there and would have been there also by the way in qualifying.
“It just didn’t come together,” he added. “Probably that’s what was in the car. But our expectations were higher temperatures.”
Although Carlos Sainz exited in Q1, Charles Leclerc produced a stellar final run to secure a front-row berth and hand the advantage to Ferrari in its fight with Mercedes.
The Brackley squad upholds a four-point margin over its Italian counterparts in the battle for second place in the Constructors’ standings ahead of the season finale.
However, with Mercedes set to end the year without a single victory for the first time since 2011, Wolff declares that he is relieved he won’t have to discuss the low-fuel troubles of Mercedes’ W14 challenger again.
“I’m fed up with having explanations why it didn’t go well,” he added. “We were good in the hot, we weren’t in the cold, the previous day it was the other way around.
“So I’m happy that this was the last qualifying of the season and we’re going to come with a new car.”
