BUDAPEST, Hungary — Toto Wolff said George Russell can win the Hungarian Grand Prix after Mercedes secured pole position for the first time this year.
Russell surprised the Ferraris in the final seconds of qualifying to take his first ever F1 pole by 0.044s.
Mercedes has been off the pace of Ferrari and Red Bull all year and was also on the back foot after two hours of practice on Friday.
After claiming pole Russell said his team was “pretty lost” with the set-up of the car 24 hours earlier.
On Saturday, Wolff joked to Sky Sports: “We just need to write down everything we did this morning, including the food and drinks we drank, in order to replicate.”
Wolff is confident Russell can win at the tight and twisty Hungaroring circuit, which he said allow the team to go into August’s three-week summer break in a buoyant mood.
“I don’t know how you say in English, one bird doesn’t make a summer?
“That was a solid result. We were always off the pace over a single lap, now we are on pole. So let’s see what we can do that tomorrow in the race and if we have the pace there I believe that we are part of the fun and games at the front again.
“If we can maintain the position at the start and be first after the first lap, have a solid stop and have a good race then why not. We can win this.”
Hamilton could only qualify seventh after an issue with his Drag Reduction System (DRS) left him without the time benefit of F1’s overtaking aid.
“In these moments you want to cry with joy for the pole position, equally you know the car was good for him to be there too,” Wolff said of his drivers’ contrasting fortunes. “Very, very bittersweet.”
On the DRS issue, Hamilton said: “It’s definitely frustrating after all the struggles that we had, not be able to fight for the front row and do it. But there will be other times.” Hamilton, who has eight F1 victories at the Hungaroring, said he is happy to help Russell fight for his first win on Sunday if needed.
“Huge congratulations to George,” Hamilton said. “It’s an amazing feeling to get the first pole position, and it is huge for the team, we don’t know where the pace all of a sudden came from, it came from nowhere, that’s a huge positive.
“I’ll do what I can tomorrow to support him, he should be able to win from that position at this track, and I’ll try and work my way up.”