Mercedes hopeful of being “in the mix” in Sao Paulo

Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff is hopeful of another victory push from the Silver Arrows but admits that the Interlagos circuit shouldn’t be a strong one for Mercedes, at least on paper.

Mercedes, who are winless this season, have been Red Bull and Max Verstappen’s closest challengers in the last two races, as Ferrari have fallen well off the pace.

Wolff, 50, said: “It was encouraging to be in the fight for the win, showing how far we’ve come since the start of the year.

“On paper, (Sao Paulo) shouldn’t be quite as strong a circuit for us as Mexico, but regardless, we want to keep up our momentum from recent races.

“So, we will keep working hard to hopefully be in the mix once again.”

Despite no victories so far in 2022, Mercedes have improved their W13, which has been beset by ride issues throughout the season, the out-going Constructors’ Champions have racked up 15 podiums with drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, something Wolff said his team should be “proud” of.

“While we’re always aiming for the top spot, we should be proud of that progress and we’re aiming to keep it going through the end of the year and into 2023,” said the Austrian.

Mercedes are third in the Constructors’ Standings, 40-points behind Ferrari, with an outside chance of snatching second in the table if the recent trend continues and a few extra points available in Saturday’s Sprint race.