F1 News
Critical Wolff declares Mercedes 'dirty track champions' in Las Vegas
On Thursday night in Las Vegas, Mercedes got off to a great start. Lewis Hamilton could top both practice sessions in the United States. However, team principal Toto Wolff does not want to get carried away. The Austrian still sees issues, and remained critical.
"I think we're dirty track champions. FP1 is always great. And then the moment the grip kicks in, we've seen that the performances deteriorate," Wolff began after the first session was held at the Las Vegas track.
"Having said that, I think the gap was pretty big. It's the biggest that we've seen so far in FP1, so we've got to spray some dust for the sessions tomorrow," the Austrian joked about who Mercedes could keep their lead in Las Vegas.
Still, he hopes to see Mercedes to be at least in contention on Saturday. "I don't believe this kind of advantage to the other teams is going to last. I would very much hope that we're not falling behind like we've been in the past on some of the tracks, but remain competitive and fight at the front."
Can Mercedes once again find their way back to the front?
After Mercedes could win three Grands Prix over the summer, the German team now once again find themselves in a difficult situation given their recent results. "Before the summer we also understood and it was clear that this is the route we need to embark. We're putting updates on the car and again, it seemed that we're taking the wrong junction and it's super difficult to dial yourself out of it again."
He added: "On the other side, you can't go back to Silverstone upgrade and put it on the car and expect to be in the front because since then everybody else has improved by a couple of tenths. The more you drive, the more you feel, the more you learn, but the competition doesn't sleep."
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