Wolff on title race: "People will talk about it for years"

Source: Mercedes-Benz Archive

F1 News

20 August 2018 at 14:17
  • Nicolás Quarles van Ufford

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has admitted that every race from now on will be vital for both championships, as the Silver Arrows have a marginal lead over Ferrari in both championships with nine races to go.

Lewis Hamilton has a bit of a buffer in the drivers' championship, as the Brit leads Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel by 24 points. However, one retirement from Hamilton could completely flip the script of the title race, so he'll have to be perfect in the last nine races.

For Mercedes as a team, the lead is even slimmer in the constructors' championship. The German team lead Ferrari by just ten points, a lead that can be easily wiped out in one race. Wolff knows his team will have to be at their best in order to prolong their reign over F1.

"This season, we've learned that there's no real favourite on a certain track," the Austrian told Speedweek.

"That also goes for Spa [Francorchamps].

"Yes, there are a lot of straights and the speed at which you drive a lap is very high.

"But we've also seen that the quickest car doesn't always win.

"Especially here it will be tough to find the perfect balance between downforce and speed."

Mercedes have been very dominant on Spa in past years, as they won the race in the past three years, and they've grabbed pole position the past six times, dating back to 2012.

"Our opponents will be doing everything to make it as hard as possible for us, which means we really have to take it track by track to see how we can set up best.

"Until the end of the year, we'll have to give it everything we've got, as it will stay tense until the last Grand Prix.

"This will be a fight we'll be talking about for years."