Toto Wolff says that whilst it was encouraging that the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team scored a double podium in last weekend’s French Grand Prix, the team are not yet where they want to be when it comes to competing against Oracle Red Bull Racing or Scuderia Ferrari.
Lewis Hamilton and George Russell finished second and third at the Circuit Paul Ricard for the best result of the season for Mercedes, but they were helped with the capitulation of Ferrari and the under-par performance of Sergio Pérez to get there.
Wolff, the Team Principal at Mercedes, says the gap to the two teams ahead of them remains too much, particularly over a single lap, and they are working extra hard to close that gap still further across the remainder of the season.
“It was encouraging to score such a big haul of points in France and maximise the situation on Sunday but we know there is much work still to do,” said Wolff. “The gap to the leaders on a single lap persists and we struggle more at the start of stints.
“We need to keep unlocking more performance, and by maintaining the culture, mindset and spirit that has spurred on all the hard work at the factories, I’m confident we will. Our reliability was good once again, and both Lewis and George were on strong form, to deliver a double podium.”
Looking ahead to this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, Wolff admits it is difficult to predict which Mercedes will turn up at the Hungaroring, with other predictions this year proving to be way off the expectations of the team.
It will be a weekend of celebration for the team in Hungary, however, as they and title sponsors Petronas celebrate two hundred and fifty races together as partners.
“Now we’re switching focus to Hungary and a very different circuit; tight, twisty and bumpy, almost the opposite of where we just were,” he said. “It’s hard to predict how we will fare because our expectations this year haven’t always matched up to reality, in terms of which tracks suit the W13.
“Nevertheless, we’ll give it our all and we always look forward to being in Budapest and the warm welcome we receive from the fans. It also marks our 250th Grand Prix with our title partners, PETRONAS, which is a brilliant milestone.”