F1 News

Wolff on rear wing: 'It broke in qualifying'

Wolff on rear wing: 'It broke in qualifying'

20-11-2021 10:54 Last update: 12:22
5

GPblog.com

Mercedes suffered a disqualification at the Brazilian Grand Prix due to a violation with the DRS system. Toto Wolff still looks at the situation a week later in disappointment, he said in conversation with Motorsport.com.

Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time in qualifying last Friday, but had to start the sprint race from the back. According to race direction, the German team made a mistake with the DRS system and therefore deserved a penalty.

Wolff explained in the interview what was going on. "We got the rear wing back. And, as we thought, it was broken. It broke in qualifying," explained the Mercedes team boss.

"We didn't pass the 85mm slot gap test on the far right side. We passed it on the left, in the middle, but not on the right, by a fraction of a millimetre. And that's fine."

Wolff still disappointed

Personally, Wolff is still bummed by the incident and doesn't understand how the stewards acted. "We weren't allowed to inspect it, nor to make the argument that the part is being broken. And consequently, we found out that two screws became undone in qualifying. And that caused that right side to be irregular."