Toto Wolff says Mercedes don’t accept its Formula 1 title hopes are “going away from us” despite defeat to Red Bull in Sunday’s Mexican Grand Prix.
Mercedes was unable to convert its front row lock-out into a result as Max Verstappen took a commanding victory to finish 16 seconds ahead of championship rival Lewis Hamilton.
Hamilton struggled to match Verstappen’s pace throughout the 71-lap event, instead thwarting off late pressure from the second Red Bull of Sergio Perez to finish in second place.
Verstappen’s ninth win of the 2021 season saw him increase his lead over Hamilton in the drivers’ standings to 19 points going into the final four races.
Following his team’s crushing loss to Red Bull at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Mercedes boss Wolff said it would “continue fighting”, adamant the championship wasn’t slipping away from its grasp.
“I’m a pretty realistic person, but I love motor racing, because anything can happen,” Wolff said, as quoted by Motorsport.com.
“None of us are ever going to leave this circuit with the mentality of this is going away from us.
“There’s four races to go, there’s four wins to take, four DNFs to suffer. And we will just continue fighting.
“We know we have a great team. Our car was exceptionally good in Turkey. And I think we have all to win.
“But when you look at the mathematically probability, obviously I’d rather be 19 points ahead than behind. But it is what it is.”
Asked if winning in Brazil was vital to stop Verstappen’s momentum in the title battle, Hamilton said: “I naturally feel I need to be winning every race.
“We need those extra points, not to lose those points, to try and regain – that was the goal going into the last race and the race before that and before that and here this weekend.
“But you know, they’re just too quick, so [we’re] giving it absolutely everything we’ve got, but unfortunately it’s not enough at the moment to compete with them.”
Red Bull’s double podium in Mexico saw it close to within a point of Mercedes in the constructors’ standings, having been 36 points adrift before the United States Grand Prix.
But despite its recent form, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner insisted the title isn’t yet within reach with plenty more points up for grabs.
“No, look, there are still 107 points available, so there’s a long way [to go],” Horner said.
“Reliability is going to play a crucial role, maximising every weekend [with] strategy [and] pitstops.
“I have to say the team were flawless today, drivers did a great job. The strategy was strong and the drivers did a great job, so all around, a very strong team performance.”
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