Mercedes Chief Toto Wolff Slams F1 Marshalling System After Hungarian GP Frustration

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has called out the marshalling system during the Hungarian Grand Prix after backmarkers were defending their positions despite Kimi Antonelli and Lewis Hamilton approaching them during the final stages of the race.

Several cars had already been lapped midway through the 70-lap race, and the last few laps saw a tight battle between Antonelli and Hamilton for the third-place finish.

The gap between the pair was over 2 seconds. However, both drivers had to pass backmarkers, which proved difficult on a narrow track like the Hungaroring. The backmarkers are supposed to give way when faster cars that have lapped them are approaching, particularly after blue flags are shown.

Antonelli’s Mercedes approached several cars that did not give way easily, such as Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto. That led the 19-year-old driver to shout on the radio, complaining about the situation. This allowed Hamilton to gain on Antonelli, and the gap dropped to just 0.5 seconds between them.

Nov 21, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Mercedes AMG Petronas team principal Toto Wolff arrives for practice for the Las Vegas Grand Prix at Las Vegas Circuit. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images Wolff called out the way the situation was handled, as Antonelli was on the verge of being overtaken by Hamilton. Addressing the issue that threatened his driver’s podium finish and put him under significant pressure until the chequered flag, Wolff said:

“The marshalling system not functioning, and cars in the back defending on a Lewis and Kimi fight is just, you know, disgraceful from some of the telemetry engineers that sit on the pit walls of these teams not telling the drivers what’s happening behind. And so overall, I’m just not happy about the whole situation.”

Antonelli started the race from P7 and secured P3. His teammate, George Russell, started from P6 but dropped to P21 at the start because of an anti-stall issue before recovering to finish seventh.

As F1 enters the month-long summer break, Wolff said:

“When I’m gonna calm down, we’re taking a solid gap in the Drivers’ Championship over the summer, a good gap in the Constructors’ Championship, and that is a credit to a fast car, to a great team, at times unlucky like with the VSC today again, but also not good enough in reliability.”

2026 Hungarian Grand Prix Race Results

1. Lando Norris 2. Max Verstappen 3. Kimi Antonelli 4. Charles Leclerc 5. Lewis Hamilton 6. Isack Hadjar 7. George Russell 8. Liam Lawson 9. Nico Hulkenberg 10. Arvid Lindblad 11. Gabriel Bortoleto 12. Pierre Gasly 13. Lance Stroll 14. Fernando Alonso 15. Franco Colapinto 16. Esteban Ocon 17. Alex Albon 18. Carlos Sainz 19. Ollie Bearman 20. Oscar Piastri (DNF) 21. Sergio Perez (DNF) 22. Valtteri Bottas (DNF)

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