Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff has clarified that his squad’s
conservative set up approach wasn’t behind its lack of pace in
Brazil. Lewis Hamilton was disqualified at the United States Grand
Prix last month after his skid block was worn below the allocated
measurement after the race. Mercedes had just one practice session
to set up its cars before it entered parc fermé conditions due to
the sprint weekend format and Hamilton’s car was found to be
illegal after the race, as was Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari, and both
were thrown out of the results. The sprint format returned in São
Paulo last weekend and Mercedes ran the car higher to ensure it
didn’t face a similar situation to Texas. However, Mercedes’ pace
throughout the weekend was lacking as it managed to score just four
points in the Grand Prix through Hamilton. George Russell was
forced to retire as a power unit oil temperature issue was
discovered late in the race while he was running towards the lower
end of the point-scoring positions. Mercedes ‘way too high’ “We ran
the car way too high,” Wolff told media including RacingNews365.com
. “And it’s something that you carry on [from the
disqualification]. But that wasn’t the main reason for an absolute
off-weekend in terms of performance. “There’s something
fundamentally wrong mechanically. It’s not a rear wing and it’s not
the car being slightly too high because we’re talking a millimeter
or two. “That is performance but it’s not the explanation for a
total off.”
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