Toto Wolff, the Mercedes Formula One team boss, believes it will be difficult for Lewis Hamilton to move up in the Turkish Grand Prix on Sunday after being worried by traffic issues during free practice.
Hamilton qualified first on Saturday, ahead of Valtteri Bottas and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, but due to a 10-place grid penalty for a new engine, he will start from 11th.
While Mercedes appears to have a significant pace advantage at Istanbul Park, Wolff feels it will be difficult for Hamilton to move up after seeing him stranded in traffic in Friday practice, and that the team will instead have to rely on a clever strategy.
“Yesterday in the long run at a certain stage we were behind a Haas and also a Williams and it was very difficult to even come close,” Wolff explained to Sky.
“I guess that strategy is more going to be the one that’s going to help tomorrow.
“You need to look at the positives that the car is very quick, and we can start from pole.
“On the negative side, it’s a weekend where we could have had a front row lockout and we haven’t, we need to go to the back and it’s not going to be easy with all the cars running on medium in front of him apart from [AlphaTauri’s soft tyre running] Yuki Tsunoda. Progress will be a tough one.”
When asked if Bottas will be required to assist Hamilton, Wolff stated that the best thing Bottas can do is hold off Verstappen and win the race.
“We have to look after ourselves,” he said. “Valtteri wants to win the race, and this is the best opportunity, and it’s helping Lewis.
“The Red Bulls have been so competitive this weekend and over the long runs, it was worse than on a single lap.”
Hamilton was likewise wary of the event’s traffic issues, but insisted that winning the race was still “not impossible.”
“My eyes are still solely set on winning the race,” Hamilton told Sky. “It’s going to be very hard from 11th, but not impossible.
“I don’t know what the weather is going to do tomorrow also, so just staying on my toes and making sure that we deliver maximum attack tomorrow.
“I honestly have got to take it one step at a time tomorrow. It’s a long race.
“If I can be higher up early on, then great, but I’ve got to stay out of trouble of course, and that will be my priority initially, and see if it’s possible to pick them off one by one.”
He added: “It’s not the easiest overtaking at the moment and we’re all on the same tyre as well, so I imagine tomorrow is going to be difficult to move up.”
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