Wolff on clash between Russell and Hamilton: 'Looked crazy but wasn't'

Toto Wolff has every reason to be bitter after Saturday's race in Barcelona. Not only because of Mercedes' disappointing result in qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix, but also because of the incident that occurred during that session between drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell. Still, according to the Mercedes team boss, it was nothing more than a misunderstanding.

Wolff on collision between Hamilton and Russell

A bizarre moment suddenly occurred in the closing stages of Q2, with the Mercedes drivers hitting each other. Hamilton's W14 did not escape unscathed, but the 38-year-old Briton was able to continue into Q3. Russell was stranded in Q2 and did not advance to the battle for the top ten positions anyway.

"It all comes down to a misunderstanding," Wolff assured in conversation with the German branch of Sky Sports. "No teammate wants to collide with the other on the last lap of a qualifying session. It was an unfortunate situation where George was about to set a fast lap, while Lewis saw his last chance and did not realise that George was also working on that lap."

There seems to be no sign of a deteriorating atmosphere between the teammates - as was the case in 2016 between Hamilton and Nico Rosberg after their clash at the Spain GP - for now. "It looked crazy, but it wasn't. It was just a misunderstanding," the Mercedes team boss reiterated.