Mercedes' Toto Wolff has said that his team will be doing everything in their power to stop Red Bull at this weekend's Sao Paulo Grand Prix in Brazil. Heading to Interlagos for the first time since 2019, Mercedes have been outscored by Red Bull in the last three Grands Prix, with Max Verstappen also extending his lead over Lewis Hamilton to 19 points with four races to go. Brazil is, on paper, a track that suits Red Bull more than Mercedes, but Wolff has vowed that his team won't be going down without a fight. "We'll be throwing everything we've got at the Brazilian Grand Prix and the races beyond," he said in the team's official preview ahead of Brazil. "We're privileged to still be in the fight so late in the season and expect these titles to go right down to the wire, with both teams fighting hard to the very last lap. "We've got some catching up to do and know it'll be an intense battle, but we'll continue to push hard and keep our eyes firmly set on the end goal." Brazil marks the second race of the final triple-header of the year, meaning there's little time to dwell on defeat. Wolff said the opportunity to immediately try to right some wrongs at Interlagos is welcome at this point of the championship fight. "The best thing about a triple-header is you don't have to wait long for a new opportunity to get the positive momentum back," he explained. "We're excited to be returning to Brazil, the fans are so passionate and Interlagos is such an iconic circuit. It's not been our strongest track in recent seasons and has tended to suit Red Bull more, but this year has proved anything can happen. "It's the last Sprint race weekend [of the season], too, which opens up more opportunity."
Victory in Mexico "was never on"
Despite locking out the front row in Mexico, Mercedes could only manage second place with Hamilton at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, with the reigning World Champion coming home more than 16 seconds behind Verstappen, while Valtteri Bottas finished 15th after a first-lap incident. Wolff believes that, even if the team had retained the lead after Turn 1, the win was never on given Verstappen's pace. "Reflecting on the last race in Mexico, it was definitely a weekend of damage limitation for us," he said. "Given the track characteristics, we knew it would be a challenging weekend for us and that proved to be the case on Sunday. The win was never in our grasp, but Lewis gave all he had to hang onto that second place, in a car that should probably have finished third. "It was a strong defensive drive from him, securing valuable points for both Championships."
Most read
