Wolff eager to prove Mercedes growth after Monza setback

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is viewing the upcoming F1 rounds as a chance to positively bounce back from Monza.

The Italian Grand Prix was a difficult round for the team with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell crossing the line in fifth and seventh respectively.

Prior to the summer break, Mercedes was consistently challenging at the front of the grid.

It took three race wins in the four rounds before the hiatus but has been unable to carry its front-running form into the next stage of the season.

Having analysed data from the weekend at Monza, Wolff highlighted the upcoming events in Baku and Singapore as opportunities to showcase its growth. 

“We head to Baku aiming for a better performance than we showed in Zandvoort and Monza,” Wolff said. 

“Both were difficult races for us. Our relative pace was not as strong as it was prior to the summer break and several of our competitors took a step forward. 

“We showed good pace at moments across both weekends but were unable to unlock this consistently. We have spent the time since then analysing why this was. 

“We have the opportunity to show we have done the necessary learning and made improvements both for this weekend in Azerbaijan and the following week in Singapore.”

Baku, Singapore to pose ‘different test’ – Wolff

Following a streak of races at permanent grand prix facilities, F1 will descend upon the street circuits of Baku and Singapore.

With vastly different characteristics compared to traditional circuits forming the layouts, Wolff is anticipating a challenging duo of events for Mercedes.

“Both are challenging street circuits,” he stated. “They are bumpy, have many low-speed and 90 degree corners, but also feature plenty of high-speed sections. 

“They pose a very different test to the ones we faced in the Netherlands and Italy. The traditional European portion of the season is now behind us. 

“We have eight flyaway races before the chequered flag falls in Abu Dhabi. We are focused on ending the season as strongly as possible. 

“There is plenty of racing left and we will be fighting for every point possible, starting this weekend in Baku.”