Toto Wolff admitted that the right call was made to U-turn a deleted lap time and give Lando Norris pole position for Saturday’s Sprint Race in Shanghai.
The McLaren driver conquered the treacherous conditions in China to claim pole for the first Sprint Race of the season, just ahead of Lewis Hamilton.
Norris’ pole-setting time was initially wiped from the timesheets after he was adjudged to have exceeded track limits, but stewards quickly reversed their decision because the Brit hit some gravel, which slowed him down.
Wolff, Team Principal and CEO of Mercedes, said the right call was made in the end – even though it denied his driver Hamilton pole position.
According to the Mirror, Wolff said: ‘I haven’t seen the detail, just that all four tyres were off track.
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Toto Wolff admitted it was the right decision to give Lando Norris the Sprint pole in Shanghai
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Stewards reversed a decision to wipe Norris’s pole-setting time for exceeding track limits
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Lewis Hamilton, who drives for Wolff’s Mercedes team, would have taken pole if the call stood
‘But, obviously, that was even slower [for Norris]. He could probably have gone faster, so I’m okay with that.’
The Mercedes head was happy Hamilton’s car was in the right window to secure a strong qualifying result, despite the poor conditions in Shanghai.
He added: ‘The driving is most important in the wet, but it showed that it was about tyre preparation. We did the right things on the final run and the tyres were in the sweet spot. Combined with a great drive, that made the time.’
The McLaren driver who will lead the British charge on Saturday in China where there will be a maximum of eight crucial Championship points up for grabs.
Speaking after the race, Norris said: ‘It was [wild]. I am extremely happy, big thanks to the team. It was tricky.
‘I was nervous. I was quick, I kept catching the Ferrari so had to keep backing off. I got a good final lap. I am happy, sad it is not for a proper qualifying but good enough. It was good fun, it gets your heart going. A nice surprise and a good position for tomorrow.’
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Norris said he was ‘extremely happy’ to be on pole after qualifying in treacherous conditions
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Practice at the Chinese GP had to be halted on Friday morning after a trackside fire appeared
Before the Sprint qualifying got underway, the Chinese Grand Prix’s sole practice session was disrupted by an unexplained fire appearing trackside.
Meanwhile, Red Bull’s Christian Horner has insisted the team will not be rushed into finding next year’s team-mate for Dutch driver Max Verstappen, who finished fourth in Sprint qualifying behind Fernando Alonso.
