Toto Wolff has shared his "glass half empty" view of the Hungarian Grand Prix, despite Kimi Antonelli extending his F1 drivers' championship lead over Lewis Hamilton.
Heading into the round at the Hungaroring, the Italian led the Ferrari driver by 45 points, but left Budapest with a 50-point advantage after securing his ninth podium of the season.
However, Wolff feels the 19-year-old could have finished one place higher, and was quick to stress his "miserable" point of view.
Mercedes lacked its usual performance at the final round before the summer shutdown, and Ferrari looked to be the favourites, given how much the twisty, technical nature of the circuit suited the SF-26 — and for the first half of the weekend, Hamilton looked well positioned to capitalise on that.
However, a three-place grid penalty — which Antonelli was also hit with — and a five-second time penalty in the grand prix left the seven-time F1 drivers' champion to take the chequered flag in fifth.
So, when it was put to Wolff that Antonelli's charge from seventh on the grid had all the hallmarks of a champion's drive against stronger opposition, the Mercedes team principal agreed.
"Absolutely," the 54-year-old told media, including RacingNews365.
"Lewis was the one to win this race on Saturday morning and all of Friday, and we come out of this with a few points gained."
However, the Austrian was not happy with how things unfolded in Budapest, with a late strategy pivot and unfortunately timed virtual safety car — courtesy of Oscar Piastri's retirement — preventing Antonelli from finishing runner-up.
Although he did qualify his stance by offering a more measured view that underlined the net positive of the weekend at the Hungaroring.
"That's great, but I've always been a miserable guy; the glass is half empty," Wolff added. "We could have had P2; we should have had P2.
"In balance, he [Lewis] got the penalties, so overall, maybe on Kimi's side we need to go home and say, 'that's okay in terms of the points'."
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