Toto Wolff has described Mercedes’ efficiency on the Sao Paulo Grand Prix as “inexcusable” after each drivers plummeted down the order over the course of the 71-lap race at Interlagos.
Lewis Hamilton was third on the grid when the race restarted on lap 4 after an early pink flag, however ended up eighth on the end as he struggled with tyre degradation and an incapability to defend place on the straights.
His teammate George Russell, ran as excessive as fifth place at first, was one place behind Hamilton when he retired attributable to an overheating energy unit 14 laps from the end.
The disappointing end result got here one week after Hamilton secured a second-place end on the Mexican Grand Prix and two weeks after he crossed the road in second on the U.S. Grand Prix solely to be disqualified for a technical infringement.
Requested to elucidate what occurred in Brazil, Wolff instructed Sky Sports activities: “Inexcusable efficiency. There are usually not even any phrases for that.
“The automobile completed second final week and the week earlier than and no matter we did to it was horrible.
“I can solely really feel for the 2 of them driving such a depressing factor.”
Mercedes was at a loss to elucidate its lack of efficiency after the race on Sunday, regardless of experiencing an analogous battle throughout Saturday’s dash race in Brazil.
The automobile was operating a comparatively high-downforce rear wing at Interlagos, which Mercedes hoped would supply efficiency within the corners and assist defend the tyres from degradation. In the end it did neither whereas additionally including to the automobile’s drag degree and lack of pace on the straights.
“It exhibits how troublesome the automobile is, it’s on a knife’s edge and we’ve to develop that higher for subsequent yr as a result of you’ll be able to’t be that inside seven days you might be ending on the rostrum stable and quickest automobile — in all probability one of many two quickest automobiles — after which you might be nowhere and end eighth,” Wolff mentioned.
“I feel straight-line pace was one problem however in all probability not the principle issue. The principle issue was we could not go spherical corners with the larger wing and the tempo we wanted — and had been killing the tyres, consuming them up inside a few laps.”
Mercedes has but to win a race