‘We hope its him’ says Wolff after Hamilton claims first Ferrari win

Mercedes’ Team Principal, Toto Wolff, says if neither of their drivers can win, then they hope it’s Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, after the seven-time champion claimed his first win in red.

Feature image credit: Mercedes F1

Making great use of a Virtual Safety Car, thanks to Aston Martin’s two-time world champion, Fernando Alonso, Hamilton claimed his first-ever Ferrari grand prix victory at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, pipping Mercedes to the win.

Up until the Barcelona race, Mercedes had enjoyed a six-round unbeaten streak, winning every race with one of their drivers, with Mercedes’ championship leader, Kimi Antonelli, claiming five consecutive race wins until Hamilton – and his untimely retirement – brought the winning streak to an end.

While it would be a bittersweet end for the Mercedes garage, with George Russell claiming his first podium since the Chinese Grand Prix and Antonelli retiring, there clearly has been no love lost between the Mercedes outfit and their former driver, Hamilton.

Antonelli ‘pleased’ for Hamilton after ‘disappointing’ Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix

Following Hamilton’s win, his first since the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix – in which he was a Mercedes driver – Wolff has said that if none of his drivers can claim the race win, then they hope it’s Hamilton. He said:

“Congratulations to Lewis. It has been a while since his last victory, and he has worked incredibly hard to earn the top spot again. We always say that if it can’t be one of our two drivers, then we hope it is him.

“Despite the Virtual Safety Car helping him at the final stop, he drove a great race and is a fully deserving winner. I am also happy for Fred [Vasseur]. Being the Team Principal of Ferrari is not easy, and I am pleased for him as my friend.”

Brilliance In Barcelona: Hamilton Secures Maiden Victory With Ferrari!

Wolff also went on to discuss the reliability problems which have struck the Mercedes garage in recent events. It marks the second occassion in three events of which one of their driver’s retired due to reliability.

In Canada, Russell ran over the grass on the exit of turn eight, before quickly stopping on track due to a power unit problem. Two rounds later, the gremlins jumped across the garage into Antonelli’s car.

On lap 61, having taken P2 from Russell, in a close wheel-to-wheel fight for the Mercedes pair, the championship leader stopped on circuit with his own power unit problems. This has allowed his closest rivals, Hamilton and Russell, to close the gap to him (156 points), with both drivers trailing the Italian star 41 and 50 points behind, respectively.

“It is disappointing that we’ve suffered another reliability issue that has cost us a lot of points today,” continued Wolff. “We know that we will need to improve this if we are to fight for both World Championships. It was George who suffered in Canada, and today it is Kimi.

“We know that to finish first, first you have to finish, and we will be working flat out to make sure we improve our reliability.”

Read more Formula 1 here:

• Brilliance In Barcelona: Hamilton Secures Maiden Victory With Ferrari!
• Leclerc hoping to bounce back ‘stronger’ in Austria after Barcelona GP
• Lewis Hamilton takes maiden Ferrari grand prix win at Barcelona-Catalunya
• Russell takes Barcelona-Catalunya GP pole by 0.064s over Hamilton
• Antonelli reprimanded for FP3 erractic driving at Barcelona-Catalunya GP
• Why are McLaren and Red Bull looking to appeal FIA Decision?
• Mercedes ‘assessing’ after Gasly Monaco P3 is reinstated

Please follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to keep up with the latest news from ApexMotorsports.co.uk!

Kamron Kent

Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.

I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

Kamron Kent

Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.