Mercedes 'tricky to master' despite Ferrari stronghold

Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff has conceded the W14 remains "tricky to master" ahead of the São Paulo Grand Prix weekend.

The Silver Arrows enter the final leg of an Americas triple-header off the back of a podium for Lewis Hamilton at the Mexico City Grand Prix last weekend.

Further optimism will be held from the fact the victory at Interlagos has gone Mercedes' way the past two years, with George Russell picking up his maiden F1 triumph last season.

But whilst results on Hamilton's side have been strong - barring a disqualification at the United States Grand Prix - Russell has struggled to match the seven-time World Champion since an upgrade was added to the car.

With the positive result in Mexico buoying the Brackley-based outfit, Wolff has remained reserved on its prospects for the final three races.

Solid baseline

"We came away from Mexico with our advantage over Ferrari in the fight for second in the Constructors' intact. That is an important battle for us and one we are focused on winning," said Wolff.

"Leaving Mexico with a second-place finish, given the challenging start to the weekend and our grid positions, was positive. The car showed very good race pace however we know we've got more work to do to extract the maximum from the W14 across all three days. Lewis put in a very strong performance to score a podium and George gave it absolutely everything, even when his tyres had gone off at the end.

"We've got one last race in this triple header and it's in Brazil. We know we've taken a good step forward in recent races, but Mexico showed W14 can still prove tricky to master. We will look to arrive in Interlagos with a solid baseline to work with and we'll see what we can do from there.

"Of course, we have fond memories from Brazil, especially the past two visits with Lewis' spectacular win in 2021 and George's first victory in 2022. The fans are super passionate about F1, and we always get such an enthusiastic reception from them. Hopefully, our package will run well there, and we can put on a good show for everyone."