In Monaco, Mercedes earned points with two cars. After the finish, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton did not hide the fact that the weekend turned out to be difficult, but the team collected useful information regarding the car, which will help in the next races.
George Russell (5th): “Difficult day, also from a physical point of view due to a lot of bumps and a long wait. It was difficult on the wet track, but the challenge was to stay on the wet tires for as long as possible.
After the pit stops, I had a tactical fight with Lando Norris. I was fast on the Hard tires, but it was hard on the Medium in the second half of the race – the tires were very granular, so fifth place can be considered a good result.
At this track, we had to deal with some of the limitations inherent in our car, but the team learned a lot and will be able to use the information in the coming weeks to take a step forward. In general, a good result. I’m sure we’ll add more in the future.”
Lewis Hamilton (8th): “Today was one of those days in Monaco when I got stuck behind other cars and spent most of the race behind them. I just followed, not being able to overtake.
I was happy with the rain, because it usually opens up additional opportunities. Unfortunately, this time the rain did not help us, and on intermediate tires I might not overtake Okon.
The weekend turned out to be difficult, I was unlucky several times, for example, with red flags in qualifying. I want to turn this page and start preparing for the stage in Baku. There is a different type of track, although there are slow turns, similar to Monaco. I hope we take a step forward and perform at a higher level, like in Barcelona.”
Toto Wolff, Team Principal: “In the race we saw the usual chaos for Monaco. We need to learn lessons and rethink the configuration of the track – it should not be that someone is driving five seconds slower than the rest, gathering a procession behind him. Monaco is a fantastic place with beautiful views, but it will be great if the racing starts up to this level.
Due to constant delays in duration, the race was more like an NFL game than a Grand Prix. However, I’m not sure what might have been done differently. We must pay tribute to the directors of the race, who coped with a difficult situation. At the beginning it started pouring rain, and before that there was a problem with connecting the TV broadcast – because of this, we might not start the race.
George had a strong race, while Lewis was disappointed with the result. First he got stuck behind Esteban, who was later penalized for a collision, then Lewis ended up behind a very slow Alonso. If not for this, he would have been able to compete with Lando and George. It was another reminder that in Monaco everything depends on the position on the track, and we are the third fastest team.
This weekend we made useful conclusions regarding the car. The knowledge gained will form the basis of our work to return to the fight for the first positions.”
