Mercedes’ Toto Wolff: Interlagos “shouldn’t be quite as strong a circuit for us as Mexico”

Coming off a missed opportunity for a win at the Mexican Grand Prix, Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team Principal Toto Wolff said that they achieved a solid result last time out and that the team will be aiming to build off of their recent progress at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

“We didn’t optimise every opportunity in Mexico, but we still managed to score good points with Lewis’s great drive to the podium and George’s P4 finish.

“It was encouraging to be in the fight for the win, showing how far we’ve come since the start of the year. While we’re always aiming for the top spot, we should be proud of that progress and we’re aiming to keep it going through the end of the year and into 2023.”

Wolff looks forward to returning to Interlagos after the team’s memorable weekend in Brazil last year, when Lewis Hamilton made a powerful charge to the win from out of position in tenth place. Since then, Brazil has bestowed honourary citizenship upon the influential British driver. 

“Brazil kicks off the final double-header of the season. Interlagos is an iconic track and the scene of so many special F1 moments, including Lewis’s spectacular performance last year in the Sprint and the Race.”

“We’re proud to be coming back to Brazil, with Lewis having been made an honorary citizen this week and having had such good memories there in the past.”

As far as the chances of earning the victory the team aims for, Wolff said that he doesn’t expect the kind of pace they showed in Mexico to continue in Brazil. He is still optimistic, however, that the team could be in the running again before the season’s end. 

“On paper, it shouldn’t be quite as strong a circuit for us as Mexico, but regardless, we want to keep up our momentum from recent races. So, we will keep working hard to hopefully be in the mix once again.”