20 November 2023 , 13:54
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Toto Wolff showed signs of being "tired" and "defeated" after the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
That's the view of Sky Sports F1 pundit Danica Patrick after watching the Mercedes chief give his verdict on another difficult race for his team. Lewis Hamilton finished seventh with George Russell eighth after the younger Brit picked up a penalty.
"Lewis got hit twice and George had a mistake. That race summarises our season," lamented the Austrian. "A quick car that is able to fight for a podium. Lewis was doing [Charles] Leclerc's times as well in free air. But then obviously he was involved in two accidents, and then George with Max, [so] you can't win, you can't be in the front."
The result means second place in the constructors' championship is all to play for at the final race of the season. Mercedes go to Abu Dhabi just four points ahead of Ferrari, the latter having scored more strongly of late.
Having watched that verdict from Wolff, former IndyCar and NASCAR racer Patrick observed that another difficult season for Mercedes seems to have taken its toll on the Austrian. "They've got so much better throughout the year, but nothing to show for it," she said.
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"You can sense, Toto looked defeated, frustrated, tired maybe. Christian [Horner, Red Bull team principal] was talking about the timing of this event. It's been a long year, everybody is wearing down. So I'm sure it's feeling extra heavy to them now, especially when they have bad days. Especially when they get glimmers of hope."
Hamilton started the race 10th and immediately lost places as he got caught up in first-corner chaos, while he also suffered a puncture later on which further hampered his progress. But despite all that, the seven-time world champion was smiling after the race having had a blast out on the new Las Vegas street track.
He said: "I'm really happy to have had a positive race and I'm really grateful that the race was so good. I don't know how it was as a spectacle to watch but there was so much overtaking. It was like Baku, but better.
"I really wasn't expecting the track to be so great, but the more and more laps I did, I just really loved racing. Lots of great overtaking opportunities. I think for all those who were so negative about the weekend, saying it's all about the show, blah blah blah, I think Vegas proved them wrong."