@shakno1 We did it to cover any possibility of a car behind doing the same. And we thought we had the time we needed to do it.
— MERCEDES AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1)
May 26, 2015
Wolff simply said there would be “a spice more common sense”. The Austrian added no one would be sacked after the error and that the team will not change the current system and give both Hamilton and Nico Rosberg their own strategist.
Asked who had spoken to Hamilton since the race, the Mercedes head of motorsport said: “I spoke to him just after the race. But it’s best to let it calm down for a day or two.”
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There were plenty of the usual conspiracy theories that the race had been fixed in Rosberg’s favour, but Wolff fairly knocked these into touch.
Wolff also revealed some of the confusion which led up to the fateful pit stop just 14 laps from the finish. He said the team had originally told Hamilton to stay out, but the driver replied “not good” and that his tyres were losing temperature.
TW: Under Safety Car you need 12 secs gap to maintain position. Our system showed us that we had that gap. https://t.co/UoGXcueKxs
— MERCEDES AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1)
May 26, 2015
“We had one second to react and, combined with our wrong timing data, we made the mistake of calling him in,” he added. Whatever Hamilton’s preference, the team are abreast of all the relevant information and the responsibility ultimately lies with them.
Meanwhile, Manor-Marussia have escaped punishment over Maria de Villota’s severe testing accident in 2012, which ultimately led to her death a year later.
De Villota lost her right eye after hitting a support truck at Duxford Airfield in Cambridgeshire, but died in July 2013 as a result of the neurological injuries she suffered. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) announced on Tuesday that no action would be taken against Manor-Marussia. De Villota had been driving at speeds of up to 200mph on the day of the accident, but the collision itself was between 30-40mph.