Toto Wolff details mixed emotions comparing George Russell’s victory at the Brazilian Grand Prix to their dominant season victory.
After a rocky start, Mercedes had threatened to complete the entire F1 season winless until Russell’s surprising win at Interlagos prevented them from having a winless season since 2011.
speak in Mercedes season briefing sessionMercedes boss Wolff believed the sprint and grand prix wins at Sao Paulo validated the car’s concept and proved that more pace could be extracted from it.
“In a way, I think it’s the perfect storm. [of things going wrong]Because what I said is within 4 months. When I won the championship in December and hit the ground in March, I wasn’t suddenly completely incapacitated by taking some ridiculous drug. .
“We were able to do it much better in Austin. Mexico was a positive surprise. And Brazil definitely won on merit, being well ahead in every session. [with] 2 race wins, fastest lap, [and finishing] One and two.
“For me it’s more about learning for next year than winning races. I think it was good evidence that the car has its own pace.”
Wolf: I’m used to winning
Mercedes initially struggled for podiums after a slow start to the season, but fought back to challenge early front-runners Ferrari for second place in the Constructors’ Championship.
Mercedes technical director Mike Elliott has cited former F1 world champion and non-executive chairman of Mercedes until his death in 2019, Niki Lauda, as inspiration for their recovery efforts.
“As Niki used to say, ‘I learn more from failure than from success,’ and this has been a big learning year for us,” commented Elliott.
“It was really interesting to see our reaction after the Brazil game. It was huge and it felt like we won the world championship and we won one race.”
“You look at the last few seasons and think ‘it’s just one race’, but I think it shows the level of passion in the organization.”
Wolfe agreed with Elliott’s comments about Brazil’s reaction to the win, adding that despite the team’s familiarity with success, he felt the win was “fulfilling”.
“For me, it’s like having eight Christmas nights in a row. The eighth won’t be as exciting as the first.”
“Okay, another win in the race. Good. Very happy. We had a good performance. I reported it like it was my first win.”
“That’s why I went back to Brazil and saw the emotion of the team. I was so proud.
“It’s been very fulfilling in a way. It’s one race win and we finished third in the Constructors’ Championship, but we weren’t really on the pace with the other teams, but that’s a jigsaw puzzle. Another piece of . [for us] To finally come back and fight on the front lines. ”
