Toto Wolff admitted the right call was made to turn around a scrapped lap time and give Lando Norris pole position for Saturday’s sprint race in Shanghai.
The McLaren driver overcame the treacherous conditions in China to claim pole for the first sprint race of the season, just ahead of Lewis Hamilton.
Norris’s pole-setting time was initially removed from the timetables after it was determined he had exceeded track limits, but the stewards quickly reversed their decision as the Briton hit some gravel, causing him to slow down.
Wolff, team principal and CEO of Mercedes, said the right choice was ultimately made, even if it denied his driver Hamilton pole position.
According to the Mirror, Wolff said: ‘I didn’t see the details, just that all four tires were off the track.
Toto Wolff admitted it was the right decision to give Lando Norris the sprint pole in Shanghai
Stewards have reversed a decision to erase Norris’ pole-setting time for exceeding track limits
Lewis Hamilton, who drives for Wolff’s Mercedes team, would have taken pole if the call had stood
‘But of course that was even slower [for Norris]. He probably could have gone faster, so that’s fine with me.”
The Mercedes chief was pleased that Hamilton’s car was in the right window to secure a strong qualifying result despite poor conditions in Shanghai.
He added: ‘Driving on wet surfaces is the most important, but it showed that it was all about preparing the tires. We did the right things on the last run and the tires were in the right place. Combined with a great drive, that made the time.’
The McLaren driver who will lead the British lead in China on Saturday, where up to eight crucial championship points are up for grabs.
Norris said after the race: ‘That’s it [wild]. I am very happy, big thanks to the team. It was difficult.
‘I was nervous. I was fast, I kept overtaking the Ferrari so I had to keep driving backwards. I rode a good last lap. I’m happy, too bad it’s not for a good qualification, but good enough. It was a lot of fun, it gets your heart going. A nice surprise and a good starting position for tomorrow.’
Norris said he was ‘extremely happy’ to be on pole after qualifying in treacherous conditions
Training at the Chinese GP had to be stopped on Friday morning after a fire broke out on the circuit
Before sprint qualifying started, the only practice session of the Chinese Grand Prix was disrupted by an unexplained fire along the track.
Meanwhile, Red Bull’s Christian Horner has insisted the team will not rush to find next year’s teammate for Dutch driver Max Verstappen, who finished fourth behind Fernando Alonso in sprint qualifying.