Toto Wolff brands Brazilian GP result ‘inexcusable’ as Mercedes boss blasts car

Toto Wolff has labelled Mercedes’ performance at the Brazilian Grand Prix as ‘inexcusable’ following a miserable outing at Interlagos. Lewis Hamilton finished down in P8, while George Russell was forced to retire.

The Silver Arrows were the fastest team at Interlagos last season with George Russell matching his sprint race victory with a first-ever Grand Prix win. 2023, however, offered a much more testing weekend for Mercedes.

Wolff and the team knew that a difficult Grand Prix was in store following a troubling performance during Saturday’s sprint race, but the race pace over 71 laps proved even more concerning than first feared.

Hamilton had climbed up to third on the road after the red flag restart, but quickly dropped out of the podium positions following an ambitious move from Fernando Alonso.

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Assessing the team’s toughest weekend of the season, Wolff told Sky Sports F1: “Inexcusable performance. There’s even no words for that.

“That car finished second last week and the week before, and whatever we did to it was horrible. Lewis survived out there, but George, I can only feel for the two driving such a miserable thing.

“It shows how difficult the car is, it’s on a knife’s edge. You’ve got to develop that better for next year because it can’t be that within seven days you’re finishing on the podium, solid, with one of the two quickest cars, and then you’re nowhere and finishing eighth.”

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Hamilton was also left beaten by the W14 after a miserable stint in Interlagos. He told Sky Sports F1: “One thing the car is really unpredictable. In a sense of one weekend it feels good, one session it feels good, and then not.

“I’m sure we will go and look at things and find things we should have done differently but with the one [practice] session it’s difficult.

“But I’m still proud of the team, they still came here and did their work, they hold their head up high and that’s what we have to continue to do. Just keep pushing forward. Two more races with this thing. Hopefully no more driving it.”

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