Mercedes to base future decisions on logic - Wolff

Mercedes has resolved to rely less on data and more on human input in future, following the strategy disaster of the Monaco grand prix. Ever since Lewis Hamilton lost a sure victory in the Principality due to a late extra pitstop, the reigning world champion team has been feverishly analysing what went wrong.

"We have looked at all the data and gone through all the options again and come to the following conclusion," team boss Toto Wolff told the German newspaper Bild. "If the same or a similar situation as Monaco were to arise in the future, we would not decide because of the data or the computer, but because of logic and common sense," he insisted.

Britain's Mirror newspaper, however, has revealed that Hamilton's own input was instrumental in the ill-fated decision to pit him during the safety car period. The report said Mercedes initially told him to stay on track, before Hamilton intervened by radio: "Are you sure it's the best thing to stay out? These tyres have lost all their temperature and everyone else is going to be on options now."

Mercedes replied: "Ok, copy, copy. Box, box." A team spokesman commented: "Lewis had his input but we make the decision and we got the calculations wrong." (GMM)