Toto Wolff points out Lewis Hamilton's big problem ahead of Brazilian Grand Prix

01 November 2023 , 15:55

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Lewis Hamilton finished second behind Max Verstappen at the Mexican Grand Prix (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Mercedes chief Toto Wolff is hoping Lewis Hamilton and George Russell can "put on a good show" at this weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix, but admitted their car is still "tricky to master".

Hamilton finished second in the Mexican Grand Prix and said after the race he "can't wait to get to Brazil and hopefully continue with the strong pace of the car". The seven-time world champion said: "It's a great result considering we started from P6 and amazing day for the team.

"We pushed hard and I'm proud of the whole team for all their work. It's been a difficult couple of weeks for us so it's great to finally bounce back. The car felt much better today, and the pace was strong. Today was about the balance of the car and managing the tyres and we managed to do that well.

"We dug really deep this weekend to improve the set-up and get it right and the result today shows the hard work everyone in the team has put in to achieve that. Now I can't wait to get to Brazil and hopefully continue with the strong pace of the car."

However, Wolff has warned both Hamilton and Russell they could experience some problems with the car in Brazil. "We came away from Mexico with our advantage over Ferrari in the fight for second in the Constructors' intact," he said.

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"That is an important battle for us and one we are focused on winning. Leaving Mexico with a second-place finish, given the challenging start to the weekend and our grid positions, was positive.

"The car showed very good race pace however we know we've got more work to do to extract the maximum from the W14 across all three days. Lewis put in a very strong performance to score a podium and George gave it absolutely everything, even when his tyres had gone off at the end.

Mercedes chief Toto Wolff has warned the car is still "tricky to master" (Getty Images)

"We've got one last race in this triple header and it's in Brazil. We know we've taken a good step forward in recent races, but Mexico showed W14 can still prove tricky to master.

"We will look to arrive in Interlagos with a solid baseline to work with and we'll see what we can do from there. Of course, we have fond memories from Brazil, especially the past two visits with Lewis' spectacular win in 2021 and George's first victory in 2022.

"The fans are super passionate about F1, and we always get such an enthusiastic reception from them. Hopefully our package will run well there, and we can put on a good show for everyone."

Matthew Cooper