Toto Wolff sets Mercedes objective after 'self-inflicted' F1 wounds

Toto Wolff has named Mercedes "objective" for the Hungarian Grand Prix after a recent run of races featuring a loss of points through "self-inflicted issues."

In the last six races, since the Canadian GP, both Mercedes cars have scored points in a grand prix only once, in Austria, with Kimi Antonelli and George Russell both suffering from reliability failures, costly penalties, or in Russell's case, issues with the straight-line speed of his car in Belgium. 

Antonelli leads the drivers' standings and is 45 points clear of Lewis Hamilton in second, with Russell 50 behind his team-mate as F1 approaches the final race before the summer break. 

In the constructors', whilst Mercedes has won eight of the 10 races thus far, and Ferrari only two, the Italian team is only 73 points behind, having enjoyed bulletproof reliability thus far from the power unit, with Charles Leclerc's two non-scores being chassis-related failures. 

Speaking ahead of the Hungarian race, which Mercedes has not won since Hamilton's 2019 success, Wolff laid out how the team is working "flat-out" to solve the issues affecting both drivers.

""We have shown at every race so far that the performance is there. We have not converted enough of that potential into results, though," said Wolff.

"We have lost points through self-inflicted issues, and we know we need to improve. The team is working flat out to understand the problems, fix them, and ensure we are giving both drivers the tools they need to maximise every weekend.
 
"Hungary presents a different challenge to the circuits we have raced at recently. Silverstone and Spa are more energy-limited tracks; Budapest is much more energy-rich, which changes some of the demands on the car and the way you approach the weekend. 

"As always, the field is competitive, and small details will make the difference.
 
"Our objective is straightforward: execute a clean, reliable weekend and score the points that the car is capable of achieving before we head into the summer break."