Toto Wolff and Mercedes came out on top of rivals Red Bull in Spain, but the Austrian made it clear he understands why the Milton Keynes outfit opted not to bring in Max Verstappen for a second stop like Lewis Hamilton. The Brit started on pole but was quickly passed buy the Dutchman heading into Turn 1. As a result Hamilton was forced to chase his championship rival for much of Sunday's race, however Mercedes eventually came out on top after opting to bring the Brit in for a second pit stop. Although Hamilton found himself 24 seconds back, his fresher medium tyres helped him close the gap and eventually make his way past Verstappen. While some will wonder why Red Bull didn't respond, Wolff stated he would have done the same. "We would probably have done the same," Wolff told RacingNews365.com and other members of the media. "You can't do that. You can't give away your track position. If you are in the lead, then it only becomes more difficult strategically." Wolff added that Mercedes would have brought Hamilton in for a second stop even if they didn't have another set of mediums available. "We probably would have chosen soft tyres then," the Wolff added. "He might not have been able to attack as long as he did on medium tyres, but we would have had fresher tyres. "That set of tyres might have gone three or four laps before the end, but when you are second, you have nothing to lose." As for Verstappen's opening lap pass on Hamilton, Wolff believes it was hard but fair racing. "The manoeuvre was hard, but within the rules. There was also no damage to Lewis' car, so we didn't lose any downforce," Wolff concluded.
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