Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff has conceded the W14 remains
“tricky to master” ahead of the São Paulo Grand Prix weekend. The
Silver Arrows enter the final leg of an Americas triple-header off
the back of a podium for Lewis Hamilton at the Mexico City Grand
Prix last weekend. Further optimism will be held from the fact the
victory at Interlagos has gone Mercedes' way the past two years,
with George Russell picking up his maiden F1 triumph last season.
But whilst results on Hamilton's side have been strong – barring a
disqualification at the United States Grand Prix – Russell has
struggled to match the seven-time World Champion since an upgrade
was added to the car. With the positive result in Mexico buoying
the Brackley-based outfit, Wolff has remained reserved on its
prospects for the final three races. Solid baseline “We came away
from Mexico with our advantage over Ferrari in the fight for second
in the Constructors' intact. That is an important battle for us and
one we are focused on winning,” said Wolff. “Leaving Mexico with a
second-place finish, given the challenging start to the weekend and
our grid positions, was positive. The car showed very good race
pace however we know we've got more work to do to extract the
maximum from the W14 across all three days. Lewis put in a very
strong performance to score a podium and George gave it absolutely
everything, even when his tyres had gone off at the end. “We've got
one last race in this triple header and it's in Brazil. We know
we've taken a good step forward in recent races, but Mexico showed
W14 can still prove tricky to master. We will look to arrive in
Interlagos with a solid baseline to work with and we'll see what we
can do from there. “Of course, we have fond memories from Brazil,
especially the past two visits with Lewis' spectacular win in 2021
and George's first victory in 2022. The fans are super passionate
about F1, and we always get such an enthusiastic reception from
them. Hopefully, our package will run well there, and we can put on
a good show for everyone.”
“tricky to master” ahead of the São Paulo Grand Prix weekend. The
Silver Arrows enter the final leg of an Americas triple-header off
the back of a podium for Lewis Hamilton at the Mexico City Grand
Prix last weekend. Further optimism will be held from the fact the
victory at Interlagos has gone Mercedes' way the past two years,
with George Russell picking up his maiden F1 triumph last season.
But whilst results on Hamilton's side have been strong – barring a
disqualification at the United States Grand Prix – Russell has
struggled to match the seven-time World Champion since an upgrade
was added to the car. With the positive result in Mexico buoying
the Brackley-based outfit, Wolff has remained reserved on its
prospects for the final three races. Solid baseline “We came away
from Mexico with our advantage over Ferrari in the fight for second
in the Constructors' intact. That is an important battle for us and
one we are focused on winning,” said Wolff. “Leaving Mexico with a
second-place finish, given the challenging start to the weekend and
our grid positions, was positive. The car showed very good race
pace however we know we've got more work to do to extract the
maximum from the W14 across all three days. Lewis put in a very
strong performance to score a podium and George gave it absolutely
everything, even when his tyres had gone off at the end. “We've got
one last race in this triple header and it's in Brazil. We know
we've taken a good step forward in recent races, but Mexico showed
W14 can still prove tricky to master. We will look to arrive in
Interlagos with a solid baseline to work with and we'll see what we
can do from there. “Of course, we have fond memories from Brazil,
especially the past two visits with Lewis' spectacular win in 2021
and George's first victory in 2022. The fans are super passionate
about F1, and we always get such an enthusiastic reception from
them. Hopefully, our package will run well there, and we can put on
a good show for everyone.”