Red Bull had a ‘dominant pack’ in the playoffs

(Motorsport-Total.com) – The unexpected often comes – or sometimes, depending on the situation. these First place in Formula 1 qualifiers in Saudi Arabia It was exactly that for Mercedes: unexpected. Because in reality it all looked like a great lap by Max Verstappen, but in the last corner the Dutchman threw first on the net with a mistake on his part.

The fact that Mercedes, which appears to have dominated everything this weekend, suddenly had to shiver so much has pushed team boss Toto Wolff into a mixture of infatuation and incomprehension. “Formula 1 is crazy and full of surprises,” says Wolff.

The Austrian takes off his hat to perform the great competitor. “They had a dominant package today, their car was really cool. They got the tire in the right window with only one warm-up lap, but we had grip issues,” he explains.

Wolff: Formula 1 is ‘crazy’

Also on Friday and Saturday, it looked as if the soft tire wouldn’t work right away for many teams, but only after a few warm-up laps. But then came Verstappen, who at the end of the third quarter only had one preliminary lap and one flying lap – and only failed in the last corner. Lewis Hamilton is first, and Valtteri Bottas is second in the race.

“He was half a second ahead and the pole was practically gone. But then he went too far in the last corner, but he stayed on the gas and hit the wall. Now we’re at one and two, which is of course one for tomorrow that means a huge advantage. But it’s just crazy,” said Wolff clearly affected.

The 49-year-old is now hoping Red Bull will lose her poker game in the race. He added, “I think they focused on one lap, which is why they got the tire in the window so quickly. And if we have that little advantage tomorrow, who knows?”

Wolf: I thought we’d be faster

Already in Friday’s training sessions, Mercedes was very dominant in the long run, partly driving Hamilton in his league. After Saturday, nothing is certain anymore. “I was expecting we’d be a lot stronger. We have a fast car and it looks like these fast corners should suit us,” Wolff puzzles.

This isn’t the first time this season, weekends have turned out differently from expectations. “Austin should have been our course, but it wasn’t. Suddenly we were really good in Brazil. It’s full of surprises,” said Wolff.