Lewis Hamilton was happy after his Sprint Qualifying results as he admitted that rain hitting the track did help Mercedes in achieving P2.
Despite rain making the conditions extremely tricky, the seven-time world champion was happy to see the first drops of water falling from the sky.
“It was pretty tricky conditions. Not a lot of grip for everyone, but so happy,” he told F1 TV.
“As soon as I saw the rain coming, I was so happy because, in the dry conditions, we are not quick enough. So, when the rain came I thought I would have a bit of a better opportunity and that’s when it all came alive.”
Toto Wolff also added that should there be rain during the Sprint Race, then Mercedes might have a chance of outperforming its rivals. Should it be dry, he predicts Red Bull and Ferrari to be quicker.
“If it is like that [in the sprint race], then we have a chance of being somewhere up there. If it’s dry then, naturally, the Ferraris and Red Bulls will come by. Maybe we can hold off some of the others.
“We should have the pace in the dry,” he told Sky Sports F1. “I don’t think we have the pace against the Red Bulls, but we do, I think, against the McLarens.”
However, predicting the pace of the rivals, and even Mercedes’ is not an easy task due to the lack of data.
“Having said that, it’s also we don’t know. Because we have no data from FP1, it could be that they are much quicker too, or the other way around.
“We know our car; in terms of generating grip, it’s not an easy task,” said Wolff. “We failed in Q1, and Q2, then got it right in Q3.
“Obviously, the driving is most important in the wet. But I think it shows it’s about tire preparation. We did the right things on the final run; the tires were in the sweet spot combined with a great drive. That made the time.”