Hamilton like a 'unicorn' at Styrian Grand Prix - Wolff
Monday, 13 July 2020
The reigning F1® champion stormed to a dominant win.
Watching Lewis Hamilton at the Styrian Grand Prix was like "seeing a unicorn" for Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff.
Reigning Formula 1® champion Hamilton stormed to pole position on Saturday, going over a second quicker than his closest rival in torrential rain in Spielberg.
The 35-year-old converted that into a comfortable race victory 24 hours later, bouncing back from a difficult Austrian Grand Prix at the same track last weekend.
Hamilton was handed a grid penalty just prior to lights out at the season-opening race, then was demoted from second to fourth following contact with Alex Albon.
"I think I've never seen anything like this in a top class of motor racing. It's like seeing a unicorn. Yeah, that was exceptional," Wolff told Sky Sports of Hamilton's display.
He added: "I think we can be very satisfied with this weekend. Tremendous job from everybody and also getting our worries from last week under control.
"I think everything has been said about Lewis' talent and his abilities. Sometimes we all need weekends like the last one, where you just work very hard to try to recover. When he's in that space he's just unbeatable."
@LewisHamilton pic.twitter.com/GM6U8Adh1z
— Mercedes-AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) July 12, 2020
Hamilton was among a majority of drivers, all of whom wore t-shirts bearing the message "End Racism", to take a knee at the front of the grid prior to the national anthem being played.
"I think where we come from is that being not a racist but staying silent is not enough," said Wolff, who knelt along with the rest of the Mercedes garage.
"This is not a one-weekend PR stunt. We have not painted the car black for one weekend.
"This is not over. This is just the beginning. And it's against racism, it's for more equality, for more gender diversification and just continuing the momentum of that, and that doesn't stop with one weekend.
"We are going to push the momentum for the good cause."