Toto Wolff dissatisfied after Mercedes’ comeback at the Miami Grand Prix

In Miami, Mercedes had a quite complicated Saturday afternoon. Lewis Hamilton couldn’t do better than thirteenth place, while George Russell managed to climb up to sixth place, without convincing his team boss, Toto Wolff. A pace that predicted a Sunday within the pack for the Brackley team.

A well-managed Sunday for the two Britons

Finally, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell managed to bounce back during the 57 laps of the Grand Prix and brought back important points for the championship. The seven-time world champion managed to climb up to sixth place, sandwiched between the two Ferraris. Lewis Hamilton started from thirteenth place, but thanks to a good pace and a different strategy, he was able to make a comeback in the race. As for George Russell, he had a good pace to climb up to fourth place behind the untouchable Red Bulls and Fernando Alonso.

Despite a very good Sunday, Toto Wolff is not impressed by the performance of his two drivers this weekend. For the team principal of Mercedes, the objective for the Silver Arrows has not been achieved during the entire trip to Miami. We should be starting at the front and be able to manage the Red Bulls and the other teams. But for now, that’s not the case. We cannot be relieved, Toto Wolff stated at the end of the Grand Prix.

A Mercedes in trouble on a lap

The Austrian also mentioned the lack of pace from his team on one lap, but also the fact that Mercedes is not at the level they should be. We cannot just be satisfied with having a good pace. That is not our goal, that is not where we want to be. We need to understand why we lack pace on one lap, added Toto Wolff. George Russell had managed to qualify in second position in Australia. But a few errors also occurred for both Mercedes drivers during qualifying, such as Lewis Hamilton this weekend.

Toto Wolff seems to see a pattern in the race weekends for Mercedes. With a difficult Saturday but a good pace the following day, the Silver Arrows cannot compete with Aston Martin or Red Bull: « It’s the story of the car. We have very good practice sessions on Friday, then we have a very complicated qualifying. In the race on Sunday, we have a solid pace. »

Toto Wolff congratulates Lewis Hamilton

Toto Wolff nevertheless congratulated his seven-time world champion, Lewis Hamilton, after his performance. Starting thirteenth, the Briton managed his race and his first stint on hard tires. Holding seventh position for a long time, he was able to overtake Charles Leclerc towards the end of the race to reclaim sixth place and extend Mercedes’ lead over Ferrari in the standings. “He delivered a very impressive performance,” highlighted Toto Wolff. “He started P13, and managed to climb up the ranks with a car that is not easy to drive. It’s really good work,” added the Mercedes team principal. It was a somewhat mixed Grand Prix in Miami for the Silver Arrows, but it bodes well for the future.