Wolff in awe of Red Bull strategy, calls it 'brave'

It was not an easy weekend for Toto Wolff. Max Verstappen was ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull Racing is closing in on Mercedes. The Mercedes team boss nevertheless expresses his awe at his rival's strategy, with which they outsmarted him in the United States.

Wolff calls Red Bull brave

Verstappen lost the lead at the first corner of the race to Hamilton. During the first stint of ten laps on the yellow tyre, Verstappen seemed faster than the Briton. Yet the Dutchman and his team opted for an early pit stop. An aggressive approach that ultimately yielded a maximum result.

Wolff is in awe of Red Bull's choice. Motorsport.com quotes the Austrian: "The team tried the undercut out of necessity. I think it was a brave move, because it was too early to stop."

Disappointing first stint for Mercedes

Verstappen seemed to have a better pace on the yellow tyre. In the second and third stint on the white tyre Mercedes had more speed. Red Bull's strategy in stint one was therefore crucial.

Wolff: "Especially in the last lap you could see that Verstappen has learned not to burn out his tyres too early. He still had reserves. We went in late, because our car wasn't fast enough in the middle of the first stint. It looked like we couldn't finish the race with a stop at such an early point."