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Wolff: 'Pole position for Verstappen would not have made a difference'

Wolff: 'Pole position for Verstappen would not have made a difference'

07-12-2021 11:06 Last update: 14:05
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GPblog.com

The Saudi Arabia Grand Prix was ultimately a celebration for Mercedes. Lewis Hamilton started the race from pole position and eventually crossed the finish line first. Toto Wolff, therefore, sees this as the best possible scenario.

Max Verstappen and Hamilton will start the race in Abu Dhabi with equal points. Christian Horner indicated that he is hopeful, but remains unsure due to Mercedes' speed. The Mercedes team boss indicated in the F1 Nation podcast indicated that this was what they were hoping for. "We made a big jump forward in the Constructors championship, and we are on equal points with Max. This is the best case scenario. Whoever wins Abu Dhabi wins the championship."

Stronger car in longruns

Mercedes were hoping for this scenario, but were not sure it would happen. The Austrian admits they thought they had the strongest car until they saw the laps of Red Bull Racing and Verstappen. Still, it would have made no difference if the Dutchman had started on pole position, as the Mercedes car is stronger in the longruns. "Even him starting from pole position wouldn’t have made a big difference, because our car was just stronger. But the race was so messy, so confusing that I think we could’ve lost the race twice with the damage and at the end to finish first and third is great."

This Formula One season is often labelled as one of the best seasons in Formula One history. Wolff is therefore very happy to have been a part of it, regardless of the outcome. "I thought it was such a privilege to be part of such a season. It’s been one of the best it has been. Emotions are running high.
Whatever the result is, it was an unbelievable ride."