Mercedes clarifies Max Verstappen strategy following criticism from Lewis Hamilton

Mercedes has clarified their pit stop strategy for Lewis Hamilton at the Monaco Grand Prix, which had drawn complaints from the seven-time F1 champion.

Hamilton pitted when there was enough space behind him to retain his position. A lap later, Max Verstappen, who was ahead on the track, also pitted and rejoined the race still ahead of Hamilton, who expressed his displeasure over the radio, questioning why he hadn’t been informed of Verstappen’s tire change. Hamilton hinted that he could have pushed harder to try to undercut the Red Bull driver. Team principal Toto Wolff later admitted they made an error by not informing Hamilton in time.

Wolff explained: “There was a miscommunication on the pit wall. We should have treated it as an ‘out-lap critical’ situation to try and undercut, but there was uncertainty about the effectiveness of a single lap on new tires. The message Hamilton received was confusing and ultimately incorrect. We worried about the tires’ longevity, but in hindsight, it was the wrong call. This is a team sport, and we made a mistake.”

In a new video from Mercedes, trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin also addressed the issue, admitting they “could have been a bit tidier.” Shovlin explained that they never believed Hamilton could undercut Verstappen, given the track situation. Their plan was for Hamilton to catch up to Verstappen, who would be on used tires, allowing Hamilton to pressure him.

Shovlin noted: “We didn’t think it would change the race situation. However, in case George Russell struggled to finish, it was an insurance policy. The problem was that we didn’t instruct Lewis to go flat out on his out lap, giving Max the gap to make his pit stop and rejoin ahead. This resulted in Max on fresh tires behind George, but George wasn’t at risk of losing his position as he had managed his tires well.”

He concluded: “We could have communicated more clearly. Ultimately, we wanted Lewis on fresh tires to secure the fastest lap and pressure Max, but our messaging was off.”