Wolff slams Mercedes’s poor performance in Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has criticised all parties involved in what he called “total underperformance” during Saturday’s qualifying session for the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Wolff expressed his frustration after three-time world champion Lewis Hamilton qualified in fifth place, while George Russell only managed 17th. This performance came just two weeks after the team’s impressive showing at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, where Hamilton secured an emotional win.

Russell described his qualifying experience as a “disaster” after failing to advance from the first qualifying run due to an error and being under-fueled for an improved faster lap.

Hamilton faced difficulties in the second session, barely making it through in 10th place during a wet-and-dry period, and eventually ended up six-tenths behind Lando Norris, who claimed pole position for McLaren.

“It was a total underperformance literally from everybody here,” Wolff told Sky Sports F1. “Losing a car in Q1 is just not on. Driver-team combination – it should not happen. At the end, we just didn’t have the pace. A very disappointing day.”