Mercedes went through what was arguably their most difficult race of 2023 in Sao Paolo last Sunday. George Russell could not finish the race and Lewis Hamilton limped home to finish in P8. Now, Toto Wolff has come up to console Lewis Hamilton for finishing the hellish ride and for getting whatever points he could muster.
Hamilton had a bright start to his race as he took himself to P3 right after the lights went out. However, he failed to keep himself at that place for long as Fernando Alonso and Sergio Perez overtook him.
Lewis finishes the São Paulo GP in P8. George was forced to retire with PU issues. pic.twitter.com/3ete80SdtA
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) November 5, 2023
Nevertheless, Hamilton managed to finish the race and this is why Wolff is utterly grateful. According to a statement shared by deni on X, the Mercedes boss said on the team radio, “Lewis, horrible for all of us. Car can’t go back like this from one race to the other, we need to find out what went wrong. Thank you for surviving that.”
Admittedly, the W14 has not been an easy car to drive all weekend. Both Russell and Hamilton faced incredible difficulties in keeping the car on track as they informed about it sliding out and losing balance.
How hellish the Sao Paulo GP was for Lewis Hamilton and Co?
Despite having a brilliant start to his race, Lewis Hamilton’s performance fell off drastically. After Alonso and Perez drove past him, Lance Stroll and Carlos Sainz too, did not find it difficult to do the same.
At one point, the seven-time world champion complained on the radio that it got tough for him to keep the Alpine of Pierre Gasly behind, that too with the use of DRS. Eventually, the Frenchman passed him. This meant that eighth place was the best Hamilton could come up with.
Tough day but we’ll regroup, work through what went wrong, and come back stronger for the final two races. pic.twitter.com/ZfL0izE6zX
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) November 5, 2023
Russell, on the other hand, had a worse finish to his Sao Paulo race. At one point, he was asking his team to let him and Hamilton work together to make the best out of the weekend. Unfortunately for the Briton, a mechanical failure spoiled his plans.
Mercedes suspected an issue with the Power Unit and this forced the young Briton retire. Nevertheless, the Silver Arrows still have a 20-point lead over Ferrari for P2 in the Constructors’ championship, and they will need to make sure they keep their lead intact in the next two races.
