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F1: More common sense needed, says Mercedes F1 boss

Mercedes need to show a bit more common sense in future, motorsport head Toto Wolff said on Tuesday after the Formula One team had analysed the blunder that cost Lewis Hamilton the Monaco Grand Prix.

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Mercedes need to show a bit more common sense in future, motorsport head Toto Wolff said on Tuesday after the Formula One team had analysed the blunder that cost Lewis Hamilton the Monaco Grand Prix.

Asked, in an exchange with fans on Twitter, what the key findings were from post-race debriefs and how the world champions would improve strategically in races to come, the Austrian replied: "Improve software, better communication and a spice (bit) more common sense".

Hamilton led Sunday's showcase race from pole position until the safety car was deployed in the closing laps and he was called in for what turned out to be a needless pitstop while those immediately behind stayed out.

Mercedes were wary of Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel pitting for fresh supersoft tyres, which could have made him a threat even on a circuit like Monaco where overtaking is extremely difficult, and thought Hamilton had enough of a gap to pit and safely retain the lead.

They were wrong and the Briton ended up third with his overall lead over winning team mate Nico Rosberg halved to 10 points.

"We told him to stay out and Lewis said "not good" and that the tyres had lost temperature," Wolff said of how the situation unfolded.

"We had one second to react and, combined with our wrong timing data, we made the mistake of calling him in."

Wolff said nobody was punished for what happened and nor would they be. He was also confident Hamilton would still have full confidence in the team when they met up again in Canada next week.

"Trust is a key value within our team. One race doesn't tip that over," he said.

The team boss also said Mercedes would not be changing their policy of having one overall strategist, rather than one for each driver.

"Last year proved that we allow our drivers to have a fair and equal fight. Having one strategist allows this," he emphasised.

"You need the right balance between data and gut feeling. Our tools told us we had the gap but they were wrong," Wolff said. (Editing by Tony Jimenez)

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