'It was karma': Controversial move that came back to bite Mercedes

Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff was critical of his team's preparations and reactions on Sunday after Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas crashed out of contention in a chaotic rain-hit German Grand Prix.

Wolff, wearing braces and 'baggies' as part of champions Mercedes' decision to revert to 'retro' 1950s outfits in celebration of 125 years of motorsport, said the team was not prepared and made the "wrong calls".

The Austrian team boss seemed frustrated and angry that the team were distracted from their jobs by a need to dress in old overalls and flat caps.

It was the team's 200th Formula One race start as a constructor, another cause for their celebrations in advance at their home race where their parent company was the event's main sponsor.

"Many drivers crashed," said Wolff, who ditched his costume in frustration after the race.

"Overall, for us, it was a bad day and, for the drivers, it was a bad day, it cannot go much worse.

"This shows that you shouldn't fool around with the staff. You should concentrate on the job. We are not superstitious, but we believe in karma and it's a day to learn."

"I think we had a decent start with good pace. Then you had incidents, crashing out in tricky conditions, the wrong calls."

Hamilton, who had been managing an illness through the weekend, crashed into the Mercedes advertising hoardings right after Charles Leclerc put his Ferrari into a similar wall nearby.

But while the Briton managed to escape with just a broken wing, he rushed into the pits from the final turn and caught his team off guard.

A new front wing was not ready to be put on and they changed their tyre choice halfway through a stop that was clocked at 50 seconds.

"It was unfortunate, crashing right at the entry of the pit lane. You are not prepared. We made the wrong calls afterwards – it was all coming together,” Wolff said.

"Many others made the same mistake. Leclerc crashed and many others crashed."

Hamilton accepted his share of the blame for the team’s worst result since he and Nico Rosberg collided on the first lap of the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix.

"It was my worst day in the office for a long, long time. You live and you learn,” he said.

“I don't know what happened today, but I'm glad it’s over and there are more races ahead so we can focus on regrouping and coming back strong.”

He added: "Me hitting the wall not helpful and them putting on the slick tyres not helpful either.”

Dutchman Max Verstappen claimed his second victory of the season for Red Bull, making five pit-stops on the way, to finish ahead of Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari and Daniil Kvyat of Toro Rosso.

Hamilton, who had been feeling poorly with a sore throat, finished 11th after two mistakes and six pit-stops while Bottas crashed out in the closing laps.

He was later promoted to ninth after Alfa Romeo drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi were penalised 30 seconds each for infringements on the start line.

with AFP