WOLFF DEMANDS
'STRONGER
PERFORMANCE'
IN MEXICO CITY
"I think we had the necessary
pace in the car to finish on
the podium," insisted Toto Wolff
after US Grand Prix
Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff has called on the team to deliver a better result in Mexico after what he called a "disappointing" showing in the US Grand Prix in Austin.
Kimi Antonelli and George Russell both scored in last Saturday's Sprint, but in Sunday's Grand Prix, things unravelled for Mercedes at an early stage. Russell started fourth but got squeezed by both Oscar Piastri and Lewis Hamilton at the start, and dropped behind.
From there he tried to close back up, but did not have the pace to challenge and had to settle for sixth at the flag. Antonelli meanwhile finished 13th after being tipped into a spin early in the race.
“The push that we are having back home at Brixworth and Brackley is enormous, and that’s why it is disappointing that we are not able to monetise on the good car at the moment,” explained Wolff after the race.
“Not every race can be a classic and that was the case [in Austin]. There were small pace differences between the top cars and that, along with the challenge of managing surface tyre temperatures when following closely, made overtaking almost impossible.
“Unfortunately for us, George lost two positions at Turn 1 and dropped to P6. Kimi was spun around early in the race meanwhile, so we were always playing catch up. I think we had the necessary pace in the car to finish on the podium but once you are behind, there was no chance to pass.”
"The push that we are having back home at Brixworth and Brackley is enormous, and that’s why it is disappointing that we are not able to monetise on the good car at the moment."
TOTO WOLFF
Antonelli's race was compromised when he was tagged into a spin by Carlos Sainz, who tried to send one up the inside of Turn 15 and wound up locking up and running into the Mercedes ahead.
“[It was a] tricky start, obviously Kimi was taken out by Sainz and the race afterwards wasn’t good so yeah it is a shame,” added Wolff about the teenager’s afternoon.
Antonelli had looked in the mix for much of the weekend, but once he had had his trip through the gravel, he dropped to last and was unable to make his way back to the points. As such, Mercedes saw their lead over Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship cut to just seven points.
“We’ve got another race next week in Mexico and we will be looking to perform more like we did in Singapore than we have here in Austin. Both Ferrari and Red Bull have regained ground on us in the Constructors’ today, so it’s important we put in a stronger performance in Mexico City,” Wolff concluded.
