Wolff thinks Mercedes were more unlucky than Red Bull: "In Baku we could have won"

After a ruthless winning streak by Red Bull Racing, it was Mercedes who ended the first half of the season as championship leaders. The circumstances of the changing of the guard were favourable for the German team, although team principal Toto Wolff has a more nuanced view.

He, therefore, waved away the suggestion that Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes had taken over the championship lead by luck. "We are leading the championship because there is a god of racing that gives and takes away. In Monaco, we could have been second with Bottas if we hadn't had problems with the pit stop, and in Baku we could have won with Hamilton. On the other hand, our rivals had a lot of bad luck in Hungary," Wolff told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Wolff sees only Hungary as a bad luck race for Red Bull

In doing so, the Mercedes team boss is wisely silent about the blowout Max Verstappen suffered in Baku at the lead of the race, as well as his crash at Silverstone. "What happened in Silverstone was not Hamilton's fault," he replies when the subject is broached. Also, the 49-year-old Austrian once again suggests that 'some teams' have played with the rules in his eyes.

"Sometimes teams are on the limit of what is allowed, or even a bit too far over it for my liking. It's good that the FIA keeps a close eye on the teams, and it's my job and that of my engineers to be suspicious. I am sure that some teams have played with the tyre pressures or the flexibility of the wings, and the FIA was right to intervene," said Wolff, who seems to be pointing the finger at Red Bull once again.