Mercedes boss admits the team has made breakthrough in understanding dismal Brazil GP performance

The 2023 Brazilian GP was a head-scratcher for the Mercedes F1 team, with team boss Toto Wolff having no answers for the woeful turn in fortunes over the sprint weekend.

Just 12 months after securing a triumphant 1-2 in Sao Paulo, Wolff described this year's visit as the 'most difficult weekend of the season'. Lewis Hamilton had to settle for an eighth-place finish in the main race, while George Russell retired.

Wolff had initially suspected a fundamental 'mechanical issue' plaguing the W14 over the Brazilian GP weekend. After diagnosing the issue back in Brackley, the Mercedes team principal has confirmed that the engineers have successfully understood the root cause of their troubles.

The Austrian shed light on the team's performance in Brazil in the preview notes for the inaugural Las Vegas GP. His statement read:

"Brazil was probably our most difficult weekend of the season. After promising performances in the US and Mexico, we didn't perform at our best in Brazil."

"We have been hard at work to identify the wrong turn we took with the set-up; we have done that. We understand our mistakes and can explain our performance loss to the field. That's important as we look to secure P2 in the Constructors' Championship," it read further.

The performance of the W14 in the Brazilian GP was an outlier as Lewis Hamilton had put together podium-winning results since the latest round of upgrades in Austin and Mexico.

Hamilton's P8 finish did damage limitation as their main rivals Ferrari also had misfortunes of its own. Charles Leclerc crashed out on the formation lap and Carlos Sainz could only muster a P6 finish.

Heading into the third round in the States, Mercedes currently has a 20-point lead over the Italian team.

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Mercedes team boss thinks Las Vegas GP will be a "big challenge" for all teams

The inaugural Las Vegas GP has stirred up a lot of buzz over the media, as F1 takes over the streets of the Sin City. However, the concept of racing at midnight in the middle of a desert comes with its own set of challenges.

Toto Wolff thought the new track and the low track temperatures might throw some curveballs this weekend.

"In parallel, we have been preparing for the challenge of racing at a venue that is a complete unknown. We have prepared the best we can, using the limited information we have, and there are some unique characteristics we can anticipate," the Mercedes boss said in the preview notes.

He added:

"The schedule is offset compared to other races. We'll be running at night, where ambient and track temperatures will likely be in the single digits. Plus, the track layout itself is unusual with many slow corners but long straights. It's going to be a big challenge for us all and we're looking forward to taking it on."

The Las Vegas GP is scheduled to take place from November 16-18.