Toto Wolff: Mercedes don’t know why they were ‘so far ahead of everyone’ at Brazil

The 2022 F1 Brazilian Grand Prix last Sunday saw Mercedes dominate the field and finish P1 and P2 in the race. George Russell drove brilliantly to get his first career win in Sao Paolo, while rivals Red Bull and Ferrari were seen to be nowhere near the Silver Arrows.

Toto Wolff, the team principal at Mercedes, was elated with the result, but he pointed out that the team still has a long way to go. Though he knew why the car looked good on track, he wasn't sure why the pace difference compared to other teams was so drastic.

Wolff said:

"I think we know why we were better, [but] do we know why were so far ahead of everyone this weekend? We don't."

Of course, the Silver Arrows are accustomed to dominating the sport as they won several titles during their reign. Hence, Toto Wolff believes that there is still room for improvement. The Mercedes team principal also mentioned how the next race in Abu Dhabi will be much more difficult for them.

He said:

"It is why I think it is just the sum of the parts of the developments that have been brought to the car, the good work that was done on the power unit side, and we've seen the positive trend over the last three races. Are we back in utter domination? No, we are not."

He further added:

"On paper, Abu Dhabi will be much more difficult for us because we are still too draggy, but we know why."

Mercedes had a tough season this year with porpoising issues and the car being quite slow compared to Ferrari and Red Bull. The drivers and the team, however, worked hard to pinpoint and rectify the fundamental flaws and gradually crawled to the top. Though it will be a tough fight against other rival teams, Mercedes look quite strong for the last race of the 2022 F1 season.

---

George Russell had a glaring issue in his Mercedes W13 in Brazil, reveals Toto Wolff

Despite having a flawless drive, George Russell had a concerning issue in his Mercedes W13 during the 2022 F1 Brazilian GP. Team principal Toto Wolff revealed the issue in the press after the race, mentioning how the team even feared a DNF.

Wolff said:

"We had a water leak on the car throughout the race, and it wasn't clear whether we could actually make it to the end. We talked about it on the intercom, and we all agreed that we were going to let him drive to the end, even without water, and just try to finish the race."

Wolff claimed to be relieved and delighted that the water leak didn't turn into a major issue. The car kept going and allowed Russell to keep his teammate Lewis Hamilton and others behind him and bag his first F1 victory.