Toto Wolff wants Mercedes to remain "humble" in its pursuit of a Grand Prix victory in 2023 and avoid blanking for the first time in his leadership. Trouble with the W14 car, coupled with the crushing dominance of the Red Bull RB19 has meant that Mercedes has not been in contention for a victory all season, although Lewis Hamilton did finish second in Australia and Spain. The team did have a chance to win in Singapore after stopping for fresh Medium tyres under the Virtual Safety Car, but the progress charge was halted when George Russell and Hamilton could not pass second-placed Lando Norris in the closing stages - in part helped by leader Carlos Sainz giving the McLaren DRS to prevent Russell and Hamilton steaming past. Russell crashed out on the final lap as Hamilton inherited third, but the first win of the season remains elusive as Mercedes looks to continue its record of always winning at least one race per year under Wolff's leadership and since the 2012 season. As the wait goes on, Wolff has reminded the team to stay humble.
Humble Mercedes
"I'd like to say that every year we have raced we have had a win at least, but you've got to stay humble about it," Wolff told media including RacingNews365. "We have had a super strong Red Bull all year, it was Ferrari that was strong in Monza [and Singapore]. " I hope that we have more opportunities to race at the front, we'll see in six, seven days again where we are [in Japan] then Brazil can be a good one for us, we'll bring some stuff to Austin, so, some fun races ahead and I certainly look very much forward to them. "This car has been a surprise box all along. I bet if you asked Red Bull why they didn’t get it right [in Singapore] I am not sure they know. I "These ground effect cars are just very difficult to setup. If you fall out of the window, you have no performance and that has happened to us more than we got it right."
Most read
