Hamilton complains and Wolff can’t take it anymore: Toto’s viral radio to Lewis in Austria

Mercedes seems to have taken a big step forward with the upgrade package they showed in Monaco and which worked so well in Barcelona. They have half a new car, giving up on their idea that got stuck from the previous ‘zero pontoon’ course. But the team’s boss, Toto Wolff, warned that what was seen in Barcelona was probably not entirely true because his car benefited from being a “mega window” thanks to the unexpectedly low track temperatures that took place in Barcelona. We had to wait for the next races to see if the new package was really a big step forward or just a nice improvement. And finally, Mercedes is not equally competitive either in Canada or in Austria. A clear example is how hard Lewis Hamilton had in the Austrian F1 GP with the wheel of his Mercedes, and how much he complained about it on the team radio.

“I couldn’t help but push the limits of the (track) because the car didn’t turn,” Lewis said. “Pérez constantly exceeds the limits of the track,” he added, just two examples of his complaints with the team.

“This car is so slow, man,” he commented on lap 13, by which time the Briton was already under the black and white flag for twice exceeding (out of 13 possible) the track’s limits in the last few corners. That sentence was the last straw for Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff, who decided to respond over the radio with a clear and concise command: “Lewis, the car is bad, we know. Please drive it.” That radio from Toto to Hamilton didn’t take long to go viral. Wolff did not want to continue listening to Hamilton’s remarks. He just wanted me to drive and take that car as high as possible.

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Hamilton received a 5 second race penalty for violating track limits. And after Aston Martin’s claim, Lewis would receive a 10-second penalty for continuing to exceed track limits.

In his final 10-second penalty, Hamilton moved from 7th to 8th, handing 7th to his teammate, a calmer George Russell in his car.