Mercedes managed to surprise friend and foe during qualifying by securing the first row of the grid. Valtteri Bottas took first, followed by his teammate. Naturally, team boss Toto Wolff is very satisfied with the result, which also surprised him.
“I am once again amazed at what can happen in Formula 1. This morning it seems to be falling in the direction of Red Bull, but in the second quarter we found the missing piece of the puzzle and everything came together,” Wolff told the cameras. by Sky Sports. The playoffs also turned out to be a surprise in the US, but then the roles were reversed. “In Austin we were the losers, but I’m glad it worked out here.”
Thus, Mercedes starts from the front row, which makes the chances of winning much greater for the German team. “I am glad we got some momentum. Hopefully we can continue this trend until the end of the season.” The run to the first corner is long, which makes Wolff wary of the Red Bulls. “It could be an advantage to start third and fourth, but I’m happy to be up front I have to say.”
“Red Bull doesn’t seem to be improving during the playoffs”
Where Mercedes improved dramatically during qualifying, development stalled at Red Bull, Wolff also noted. “Session after session you learn more about the car, so we can get better each time. On the other hand, Red Bull didn’t seem to improve during qualifying, which surprised me. Mercedes has had air-cooling issues in the past, so it’s a relief to start at Then you don’t have to worry about the temperatures of the materials,” concludes the Mercedes chief.
