Mercedes’ team principal Toto Wolff called their performance “inexcusable” and the car a “miserable thing”, after the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
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Lewis Hamilton and George Russel struggled during Sunday’s (5) race with the car. They had to fight for pace and tyres, as the car was very inconsistent. Hamilton dropped from third to eight after the race was restarted after a red flag, and was 63 seconds behind race winner Max Vertsappen. Russel also had a hard time, as he continued to drop positions, before eventually retiring due to high power unit oil temperatures.
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In an interview to Sky Sports F1 after the race, Toto Wolff was not happy with the results. “Inexcusable performance. There’s even no words for that. That car finished second last week and the week before, and whatever we did to it was horrible. Lewis survived out there, but George… I can only feel for the two driving such a miserable thing”.
Wolff also said that the car is difficult. “It shows how difficult the car is, it’s on a knife’s edge. You’ve got to develop that better for next year, because it can’t be that within seven days you’re finishing on the podium, solid, with one of the two quickest cars, and then you’re nowhere and finishing eighth”.
Mercedes are still without a win in 2023 and there are only two grands prix left to finish the season. “We need to push for the last two races and recover. I think that’s the most important thing. And see what we can do in Las Vegas, a totally different track, and Abu Dhabi”, added Wolff.