Toto Wolff says Max Verstappen's storming start to go from third to first at Turn 1 in Mexico "shouldn't have happened", as his drivers lined up on the front row. With the run from the starting grid to Turn 1 being the longest of the season, Verstappen used the slipstream to position himself on the outside of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas and picked his braking point perfectly to go around both. It was a move that didn't impress Wolff, who wasn't a particularly happy team boss after the chequered flag. "Yeah, that shouldn't have happened," Wolff told Sky Sports F1 about Verstappen's move. "We had two cars in front and seemed to open up the sea for Max to come around the outside. The spin afterwards and the complete loss of points with Valtteri's car, when there could have been a third or fourth place, is annoying to say the least."
Bottas' fastest lap keeps Mercedes in front
Mercedes' lead in the Constructors' Championship has shrunk to one point as a result of Red Bull's 1-3 finish, with Bottas ensuring Verstappen didn't claim maximum points by setting the fastest lap on the last lap of the race. While Bottas doesn't score an extra point, as he finished outside the top 10, it ensured Verstappen only got 25 points instead of 26. "That doesn't really console me at that stage," Wolff admitted. "You see that on the fastest lap we have the pace in the car or, at least, take away fastest lap from Max. But still, overall, it's a day to forget for us." With just a week to go until the Sao Paulo Grand Prix at Interlagos, Wolff says he's trying to focus on the positives from a poor Mexico City Grand Prix. "We need to look at the positives," he commented. "First of all, Lewis drove a brilliant race with the equipment that he was given to really hold on in the way he did to P2, because Checo [Perez] was fast on the Friday. So that is really the highlight for me today, and now it's just about picking ourselves up. It's just one week to go [to the next race]."
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