“I’m happy this was the last qualifying” - Toto Wolff ‘fed up’ with another poor performance as Lewis Hamilton exits in Q2

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff was disappointed at the end of the qualifying session at the F1 Abu Dhabi GP as Lewis Hamilton could only qualify P11.

Lewis Hamilton's Q2 exit after qualifying P11 brought the team to the cusp of yet another tough weekend. Mercedes has had a difficult season with the unpredictability of the W14; the drivers, especially Hamilton, have complained about the downforce of the car throughout the season.

Toto Wolff also said he was "fed up" with the car after the qualifying session, and that he was happy it was the final race of the season. He said:

"I’m fed up with having explanations why it didn’t go well (…) I’m happy that this was the last qualifying of the season, and we’re gonna come with a new car [next year]."

Lewis Hamilton would have made it into Q3 if it wasn't for George Russell, who was fast enough to get ahead and push his teammate down to P11 with no time remaining on the clock. Hamilton complained about the car on his team radio, saying:

"There's something not right with this car, mate."

Lewis Hamilton has also lost his battle with Sergio Perez for the second position in the driver's standings after consecutive losses in Brazil and Las Vegas.

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Will Lewis Hamilton's P11 ease Ferrari's way to second place in the standings?

Although the W14 has been rather unpredictable, it was strong enough in some parts of the season for Mercedes to stay locked in second position in the standings. But with Ferrari's recent development, that position has come under threat.

The Italian outfit is out to maintain its position from the 2022 F1 season and finish second behind Red Bull. The gap between Mercedes and Ferrari was large earlier but after the Las Vegas GP, there are only four points that separate them.

During the qualifying in Abu Dhabi, when Carlos Sainz failed to get out of Q1 and qualified P16 because of traffic (as he reported), the path looked clear for Mercedes. With Hamilton in P11 now, however, it is certainly trickier for the team.

George Russell will be starting the race at P4 while Charles Leclerc will be ahead of him in P2. Lewis Hamilton will try to score as many points as he can from P11 while Carlos Sainz could be coming down to chase him in the race.

All things considered, this will be an interesting battle to keep an eye on in the final race of the 2023 F1 season.