F1: Mercedes faced dilemma over brake issue in Canada

The Mercedes Formula 1 team faced a difficult decision over whether to "interfere" in Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg's Canadian Grand Prix battle amid brake temperature concerns, says team boss Toto Wolff.

With no safety car period – unusual in Canada given 11 of the previous 17 races had incorporated one – there was no opportunity for the drivers to ease off to either save fuel or let their brakes cool at what is a heavy-braking circuit. The race became a contest between a fuel-saving Hamilton and a brake-conserving Rosberg, with the latter emerging as the driver most compromised as he finished second.

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"It is a circuit which is very heavy on the brakes, and it is a fine line between not interfering in the racing between the two drivers and on the other side trying to make sure the car survives," said Wolff. "At a certain stage we had more than a 30-second gap to [Valtteri] Bottas, but we had high brake temperatures and were a bit marginal on fuel."

Rosberg closed to within a second of Hamilton early in the second stint, only for his challenge to fade over the closing stages.

"Brakes were always an issue, and we wanted to help manage the brakes so the two of them could race each other 10 laps from the end," Wolff explained. "We gave them the call that brakes were OK, but when he [Rosberg] started to push towards the end of the race he missed his braking once. After that he probably realized that unless Lewis made a mistake it was going to be very hard to overtake him in the last 10 laps."

It was earlier in the race where Rosberg was more highly compromised.

"After the first third of the race, Nico's brakes were in danger – very, very high temperatures," said Wolff. "There was a very clear message we passed on to him to look after them. For us, the brakes were a bigger problem than the fuel."

In light of the invective directed at Mercedes over the pit stop blunder that robbed Hamilton of Monaco GP victory, Wolff was able to breathe a little easier in Canada.

"It was difficult for the team to handle that," said Wolff of the Monaco aftermath. "We were exposed to massive criticism. It looked like all the victories and world championship had been forgotten and suddenly a bunch of idiots were managing the team. So the result is a satisfying one given what happened in Monaco – and after Monaco."

Originally on Autosport.com