WE LET LEWIS DOWN
Formula 1 champions Mercedes have let Lewis Hamilton down but there is still everything to play for , team boss Toto Wolff said after the Austrian Grand Prix as the Briton fell further behind in the title chase .
Hamilton started eighth at Red Bull Ring , thanks to a five-place grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change , and finished fourth behind winning Finnish team mate Valtteri Bottas .
Ferrari ’ s championship leader Sebastian Vettel , meanwhile , extended his lead from 14 to 20 points after coming a close second .
At the previous race in Azerbaijan in June , Hamilton lost what had looked a certain win from pole position after having to pit to fix a loose headrest . He finished fifth , with Vettel fourth .
“ In my opinion Lewis had all the bad luck that you can have ,” Wolff said . “ We ’ ve let him down with the headrest , we ’ ve let him down with the gearbox . Now it ’ s about time to fight back and hopefully that ’ s going to happen in Silverstone .”
“ Generally , I feel that he didn ’ t have a great time most recently . He didn ’ t have a great time in the race because he was suffering from the car and the tyres , he didn ’ t have a great time with the gearbox troubles and the headrest ,” said Wolff . “ So it ’ s about time that this changes , the momentum goes in the other direction .”