Mercedes F1 boss Wolff 'understands' Ferrari's Spanish GP strategy
Mercedes Formula 1 team boss Toto Wolff says he "fully understands" Ferrari's unsuccessful decision to switch Sebastian Vettel to a two-stop strategy in the Spanish Grand Prix


Vettel had managed to pass Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas for second at the start, and looked on course for the runner-up spot before making a second stop under virtual safety car conditions around two-thirds distance.
With none of his rivals following suit, Vettel emerged fourth and was not able to get back ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen for the final podium spot.
Wolff, whose cars made a single stop each and brought home a one-two, said Vettel's VSC stop did not come as a surprise given the way Red Bull had pulled off Chinese GP victory with a similar strategy earlier this year.
"It's always a very difficult call to make," Wolff said. "We had it in the past, Shanghai was trading track position versus fresh tyres.
"And we debated it today again. Based on the experience we made of struggling to overtake Max, for us it was clear that track position was more important.
"Ferrari did the opposite - you saw that it worked out for [Daniel] Ricciardo and Verstappen in Shanghai, I think this is what they were thinking.
"Always very difficult calls to make. I fully understand why they did it."
Vettel said sticking to a one-stop like the Mercedes cars had was "not an option" for him given Ferrari's higher tyre wear.
Bottas, whose second-place finish required a 47-lap stint on the medium compound, admitted he was not initially convinced a one-stop was doable.
"We obviously haven't thought it would be possible to do the race quickly with one stop," he said.
"But the conditions changed and the tyres were behaving better than expected today, so then it was possible.
"I'm happy that the team was so reactive and we could spot that. And that Ferrari didn't. I think we had a good race, intelligent, today."

Mercedes had attempted to get Bottas ahead of Vettel by running longer during the initial pitstops, but a below-average pitstop meant the Finn exited the pits just behind the German.
Bottas was still convinced there would be other opportunities to reclaim second place.
"It felt that I had a lot more pace all through the race," he said.
"As everyone knows, it's extremely difficult to overtake here, and I could always put pressure on him when we needed, but you need such a big gap between the [two cars'] pace to get through.
"We were kind of waiting for the next opportunity as we missed the first opportunity during the first pitstop.
"I think with the strong car we had today there would've been opportunities later.
"I'm happy that we made better decisions as a team and could get ahead like that."

Grosjean handed three-place Monaco grid penalty for first-lap crash
Sebastian Vettel says drivers are abusing F1 VSC system loophole

Latest news
Inside the Faenza facility where AlphaTauri’s F1 pragmatic vision is realised
AlphaTauri’s mission in F1 is to sell clothes and train young drivers rather than win the championship – but you still need a cutting-edge factory to do that. Team boss Franz Tost takes GP Racing’s OLEG KARPOV on a guided tour of a facility that’s continuing to grow
Connecting two of Ferrari's favourite F1 sons
Gilles Villeneuve's exploits behind the wheel of a Ferrari made him a legend to the tifosi, even 40 years after his death. The team's current Formula 1 star Charles Leclerc enjoys a similar status, and recently got behind the wheel of a very special car from the French-Canadian’s career
How a 30cm metal wire triggered open warfare in the F1 paddock
Porpoising has become the key talking point during the 2022 Formula 1 season, as teams battle to come to terms with it. An FIA technical directive ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix and a second stay appearing on the Mercedes cars only served to create a bigger debate and raise tensions further
Does Verstappen have any weaknesses left?
Having extended his Formula 1 points lead with victory in Canada, Max Verstappen has raised his game further following his 2021 title triumph. Even on the days where Red Bull appears to be second best to Ferrari, Verstappen is getting the most out of the car in each race. So, does he have any weaknesses that his title rivals can exploit?
How F1's future fuels can shape the automotive sector
In 2026, Formula 1 plans to make the switch to a fully sustainable fuel, as the greater automotive world considers its own alternative propulsion methods. Biogasoline and e-fuels both have merit as 'drop-in' fuels but, equally, both have their shortcomings...
The breakthrough behind Sainz’s best weekend of F1 2022 so far
OPINION: Carlos Sainz came close to winning in Monaco but needed that race’s specific circumstances for his shot at a maiden Formula 1 victory to appear. Last weekend in Canada, he led the line for Ferrari in Charles Leclerc’s absence from the front. And there’s a key reason why Sainz has turned his 2022 form around
Canadian Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2022
Plenty of high scores but just a single perfect 10 from the first Montreal race in three years, as Max Verstappen fended off late pressure from Carlos Sainz. Here’s Autosport’s assessment on the Formula 1 drivers from the Canadian Grand Prix
Why “faster” Ferrari couldn’t beat Red Bull in Canadian GP
On paper the Canadian Grand Prix will go down as Max Verstappen’s latest triumph, fending off late pressure from Carlos Sainz to extend his Formula 1 world championship lead. But as safety car periods, virtual and real, shook up the race Ferrari demonstrated it can take the fight to Red Bull after recent failures