Two years after Lewis Hamilton’s devastating loss at Abu Dhabi, Mercedes are all set to take part in another championship decider at the Yas Marina Circuit. This time around, however, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is cautiously optimistic about his chances given the absence of one particular man in the paddock: Michael Masi, per reports on X.
Mercedes and Ferrari are locked into an intense battle for P2 in the Constructors’ championship. With just one race to go now, Wolff was quoted as saying, “I think we’re going there pretty much equal on points. With a proper race director, that should be fine. And then let’s race. It’s all down to the last weekend.”
Back in 2021, Hamilton and Max Verstappen went into the finale at Abu Dhabi equal on points. Until the very end, it looked like Hamilton was on course to clinch a historic eighth title.
However, a late Safety Car and a highly controversial decision by the then Race Director, Michael Masi, meant that Verstappen pipped Hamilton on the very last lap to secure his maiden F1 title. Since then, Masi’s lost that position.
Now, Niels Wittich assumes that role. That being said, despite a relatively disappointing Las Vegas GP, where the Silver Arrows lost more ground to Ferrari, Wolff is hopeful of sealing P2 in the championship next week.
Toto Wolff hopes Mercedes can finish second in the championship
The duo of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell finished 7th and 8th, respectively. Meanwhile, Ferrari registered a solid P2 with Charles Leclerc and a respectable 6th with Carlos Sainz. Now, with only four points separating Ferrari from Mercedes, Toto Wolff believes that the race for supremacy in the standings is still on.
During the race, Mercedes never really looked as pacey or comfortable as the Prancing Horse. Wolff yet believes that the data had predicted otherwise.
He explained, “[Ferrari] are very quick and done a good job. I think we could have been on par today. But the result shows something different. So let’s race.” Irrespective of the results, both teams will hope to bridge the gap to Red Bull even further in 2024.
