Wolff: Russell botched Hungarian GP qualifying 'on us'

Toto Wolff made no excuses for Mercedes' poor handling of George Russel's ill-timed run in qualifying that has left the Briton a lowly 18th on Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix grid.

Russell found himself in the closing minutes of Q1 boxed in within a procession of cars, all of which were gearing up for a final hot lap.

The group almost came to a standstill as they entered the last corner while Russell was overtaken by several drivers who ignored F1's gentlemen's agreement that calls for everyone to respect the running order ahead of a final flyer.

The Mercedes driver lost ground at the outset and never recovered the lost time, clocking in P18 and failing to make the Q2 cut.

• Read also: Russell unhappy with Mercedes team's 'risk-taking' in Q1

Russell rued the mis-timed run and felt that his team had put him in a very difficult position, a grievance that Wolff excepted.

"Q1 was messy, not only for us but for many others," conceded the Austrian. "Just so many cars on a single piece of track. We put him in the wrong position.

"The first run was already compromised and then everybody was bunching up in the last corner was far from ideal.

"We know there is no code between the drivers anymore because he was overtaken by three between Turn 13 and Turn 14 and that completely screws your last lap.

"But we need to take it on us that we haven't put him in a better position."

On the other side of the Mercedes garage, there was a wave of jubilation following Lewis Hamilton's stunning flyer in Q3 that put him on pole by just 0.003s.

The seven-time world champion will start his Hungarian Grand Prix alongside his old nemesis Max Verstappen, and that's a prospect that Wolff is relishing.

"It will be good fun, neither has anything to risk or to lose," he commented. "So they will for sure be racing each other at the beginning. It will be great.

"Lewis will be giving it everything he has to have a great fight, but we also need to stay realistic. They were in a league of their own in the long runs [in FP3]. But this is motor racing.

"Everything can be different [in the race], maybe we have a car and a driver in the best state of mind to fight against them and other cars that were also strong."

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