Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has declared himself satisfied with his team’s second row lock-out in qualifying ahead of the Formula 1 Mexico Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton qualified third and team-mate Valtteri Bottas ended the session just 0.02 seconds adrift in fourth. Both were beaten in qualifying by Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen who occupy the front row.
Despite this being only the third time in 2017 that a Mercedes has not featured in the top two in qualifying, Wolff stated that the second row is satisfying on a tricky weekend for the team.
“[It’s] pretty close between the three teams, closer than we actually expected because we knew it would be a difficult circuit for Mercedes,” he said.
“High downforce, we are not great this year. So I am actually quite satisfied with the result.”
When asked to expand upon why third and fourth was a satisfactory result, Wolff added; “You need to take it weekend by weekend to improve the car and improve the performance for next year also.
“I think so far, we have made a step closer to Red Bull and Ferrari on a high downforce track and that is at least satisfying.”
Mercedes retained their constructors’ championship title last weekend. Hamilton will wrap up a fourth drivers’ title in Mexico if he finishes the race in fifth place or better.
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