Wolff: What Lewis said is completely understandable

In the aftermath of Lewis Hamilton's scathing rant after he retired from the Malaysian Grand Prix, while comfortably leading the race when suddenly his engine went up in smoke with the finish in sight, Toto Wolff reveals that the world champion has made amends by addressing the team hours after the race at Sepang.

Wolff even condoned Hamilton's provocative and disparaging remarks, whereby the Briton suggested that there was a conspiracy within the team working against him.

Wolff said, "What Lewis said, it's completely understandable. But he came back to the garage and shook the hand of every team member."

"We talked in a small group and we were all really down. Then he stood in front of the team and found the words to lift everybody and help us recover quickly for Japan. This is what the great drivers do, the true champions, and I must express my respect for how he conducted himself."

"One of the greatest qualities of our group is how we come back from defeat even stronger than before. We will do that again now, in time for Japan next weekend," concluded Wolff.

After the race and the champion's outburst, Mercedes Technical Executive Director Paddy Lowe was more forthright in his assessment of the situation, "The word is bollocks, really. This is one of the more difficult races of the year and we approached the weekend knowing it would be tough to get a top result. And so it transpired."

"One thing we had made a priority was to ensure an equal competition between the drivers. Unfortunately, we have failed in that objective in brutal fashion. We will go away and analyse what happened, aiming to arrive in Japan prepared to bounce back in the best way we can," added Lowe.