30 August 2023 , 06:53
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Toto Wolff has moved to dampen expectations of Mercedes' performance in Monza this weekend after a mixed Dutch Grand Prix.
The F1 circus travels to Lombardy for the Italian Grand Prix following a thrilling race in Zandvoort which saw rain, red flags and a record number of overtakes. Silver Arrows star Lewis Hamilton was able to stay calm in the chaos to secure a sixth-place finish.
While that was far from his best result of the season, it was an impressive drive from the Englishman after he qualified way down in 13th. And the pace that the car showed to climb into the points has convinced Hamilton that he can start to fight runaway leader Max Verstappen.
“It didn't start off that well, but I'm pretty happy with the drive that I did to get back into the points and get sixth. It could have been higher for sure, if we made the right decision at the end of the day," Hamilton said.
"We should have pitted [straight away] but we didn’t. We paid the price for that, and we did our best to come back. I feel like today was redemption, in the sense of it was terrible yesterday. I managed to dial the car in a bit better today and overtook a bunch of people.
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"To start 13th, I was dead last at one point, to get back up to sixth, I'm happy with that. I think today I had the pace [for the podium]. I was on pace with Max in the race, but we were just out of position.
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Toto Wolff has dampened expectations ahead of the Italian Grand Prix (Lynne Sladky/AP/REX/Shutterstock)“I got past the McLaren for example which on this track was not easy to do. I was quicker than Sainz at the end just needed DRS. I think we would’ve been challenging Max if I’m really honest. Particularly when we got to the dry, pace wise, we weren’t terribly far off.”
While Hamilton is confident that Mercedes can now match Red Bull's race pace, Wolff does not appear to be so sure. He lamented the missed opportunities that cost the Silver Arrows at Zandvoort, but insisted that Monza will be a totally different challenge.
“Zandvoort was a frustrating weekend. There was potential, but we failed to capitalise on it. We got the call wrong with the switch to Intermediates and that put us on the back foot," the Mercedes boss said.
"From there, it was about trying to salvage what we could. Both drivers recovered well, but the final sting in the tail was the puncture for George. The missed opportunities are annoying, but weekends like this only fire us up to bounce back even stronger.
"We've got plenty of learnings to take into the next race. Fortunately, we don't have long to wait for it. Monza's track characteristics are the complete opposite to Zandvoort, so we'll see how we get on. It's also sure to be another spectacular atmosphere this weekend.”
Having won all but two races, Verstappen is the heavy favourite heading into Italy. The Dutchman is 138 points clear at the top of the drivers' championship standings, while Hamilton sits fourth.