Mercedes regrets instructions given to Hamilton in Abu Dhabi

The executives of the star brand have spoken a lot in recent days about the disregard for the instruction given to Lewis Hamilton. As a reminder, Paddy Lowe himself had ordered the Englishman to increase his pace at the Abu Dhabi finale to ensure that the victory promised to the German team was not jeopardized. In hindsight, the leaders of the Brackley team express regret for having interfered in the battle between their two drivers.

To believe in a turnaround of the drivers’ championship, Lewis Hamilton arrived in Abu Dhabi with the obligation to win the race, while hoping that Nico Rosberg would not finish better than fourth. With this in mind, while in first place in the race, the Briton decided to slow down his pace in the second half, hoping to see the pursuers close in on his teammate and overtake him. The threat posed by Vettel and Verstappen came close, but ultimately, this strategy did not prove successful. Nico Rosberg maintained second place in the race, which was enough for his happiness.

On the other side of the pit wall, Paddy Lowe spoke twice on the radio to urge the Briton to increase his pace. While sanctions against the attitude of the triple world champion were mentioned a few days after the race, the discourse has somewhat changed today. The pressure has since been relieved, and Nico Rosberg’s retirement announcement has changed the situation.

Mercedes director Toto Wolff now states: « In the heat of the moment, sometimes, you make decisions that are bad. In our minds, in our way of thinking, this race gave us the same number of points as the others and we were trying to win this one – without considering that there was much more at stake for the drivers. »

The Austrian even goes so far as to question his team’s strategic choice: « Given how the race unfolded, we should have communicated differently and, in hindsight, let them race as they saw fit. »

Main actor in these incredible scenes, Paddy Lowe also spoke on this subject at the recent Autosport Awards: « I think it was a great race result, a great finish not only for the team but also for the sport as a whole. It will certainly have brought new fans to the discipline. » He adds: « So it was a fantastic result, even though I told Lewis to speed up. »

The technical director of the team concludes by saying: « I think what happened was very good. It is worth remembering that in Monaco we told Nico to let Lewis pass, which was my other team instruction of the year, and he did it in a turn. We must therefore find a balance: it is worth considering. »

Obviously, the main problem for Mercedes is first to find a successor to the new world champion. Lewis Hamilton did not receive any sanction for his driving during the final race.

« There’s no need to say anything to Lewis » Niki Lauda recently indicated on this subject. « We have no issues with the way he drove in Abu Dhabi. We’ve put a line under it. »