Wolff ‘hoping for a freezing Belgium’ after Mercedes slip back in Hungary heat

Toto Wolff says Mercedes are hoping for a return to cooler temperatures next weekend in Belgium after Mercedes’ two-race winning streak came to an end in the heat of Hungary.

With the warm conditions not favouring the W15 as much as cooler climes, the Silver Arrows were not quite able to match the pace they displayed during their victorious weekends in Austria and at Silverstone.

READ MORE: Hamilton thrilled with podium in Hungary after ‘very tough’ race as he reflects on ‘hair-raising’ battle with Verstappen

However, Hamilton got the most out of his afternoon at the Hungaroring, a track that he has won at a record eight times. Despite struggling to make his tyres last during the final stint – as well as facing a feisty scrap with Max Verstappen for P3 along the way – the Briton held on to take the third spot on the podium behind winner Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.

Hamilton's team mate George Russell, meanwhile, started from down in P17 after errors from himself and Mercedes during qualifying, leaving him with work to do on race day. The 26-year-old had a long first stint before being undercut by the Red Bull of Sergio Perez during the second stops, giving him a final position of eighth.

Reflecting on the race afterwards during a chat with Sky Sports F1, Wolff commented: “I think these conditions are not for us.

“It’s hot, and finishing on the podium in third you need to see as a success, although with the other car too many things went wrong yesterday to have a better position.”

MONDAY MORNING DEBRIEF: Why did McLaren pit Norris before Piastri – and did they really need to?

Asked if Mercedes had been planning to attempt an undercut on the leading McLaren cars with Hamilton – something that the Woking squad seemed to be fearful of, prompting the decision to pit Lando Norris before Oscar Piastri – Wolff answered: “Ah no, I think the McLarens were pretty much out of range.

“We probably overstretched the tyre too much of Lewis in the second stint and it fell off in the end, so lots of learning in any case. But congratulations to McLaren, they deserved first and second. It’s been overdue for a little while.”

The team orders call that played out at McLaren has sparked some debate, and the situation is something that Wolff can seemingly relate to.

Pushed on the idea that he probably did not envy the papaya team in that scenario, the Mercedes boss said: “We’ve been there.”

READ MORE: McLaren boss Stella insists he’d be ‘extremely worried’ if Norris hadn't questioned team order to let Piastri past

For now the focus for Wolff and the Silver Arrows is on the next event on the calendar at Spa-Francorchamps, with the Austrian admitting that he is “hoping for a freezing Belgium” to provide some cooler conditions for the W15.