Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff expressed optimism about McLaren’s victory in Miami, highlighting the potential of their Formula 1 engine. McLaren secured their second win since the introduction of V6 turbo-hybrid engines in 2014, with Lando Norris achieving his first F1 victory after a long wait. Meanwhile, Mercedes had a disappointing performance, with Lewis Hamilton finishing in sixth place and George Russell two places behind. Despite this, Wolff believes that McLaren’s success with their power unit should inspire Mercedes to make the necessary upgrades to match their customer team.
Wolff commended McLaren, acknowledging their significant progress since last year when they struggled in qualifying and races. He emphasized the importance of McLaren’s victory, considering they achieved it with a Mercedes engine. He sees this as proof that with the right upgrades and work, similar steps can be taken by Mercedes. Wolff expressed his satisfaction with Mercedes’ performance in the Sprint weekend, navigating the complexities without making drastic set-up changes that had previously affected them in China.
Hamilton attempted to overtake Sergio Perez’s Red Bull for fifth place in the closing laps but was unable to find an opportunity. Wolff noted that Mercedes was faster than Perez towards the end of the race, even on the same tire compound. However, he acknowledged that the team struggled on the harder compounds. Russell faced difficulties behind Yuki Tsunoda from Red Bull Racing, with Wolff attributing the W15’s struggles to the lack of grip on the hard tire. He expressed frustration with the performance of the hard tire, describing it as lacking pace and grip. On the other hand, he mentioned that the medium tire provided more grip, particularly during Lewis’ second stint, where he appeared to be quicker than Perez, serving as the only benchmark for comparison.