Hamilton disqualification not to blame for Mercedes trouble - Wolff

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.”