Toto Wolff restated that Mercedes was the “fastest” vehicle in Austin and that they have improved with their most recent update. However, he acknowledged that Red Bull had completed development of the RB19 months prior.
Red Bull has dominated the Formula One 2023 season to the point where they have only lost once in 18 Grands Prix.
Said defeat was inflicted by Ferrari back at the Singapore Grand Prix, where Carlos Sainz took the win with Max Verstappen P5.
Mercedes confidence boosted by US Grand Prix showing
Red Bull though, for the first time since Singapore, had to withstand a serious challenge for the win at the United States Grand Prix, as Lewis Hamilton crossed the line in his Mercedes just a couple of second behind victor Max Verstappen.
With an eye toward their F1 2024 endeavors, Mercedes improved the floor at the Circuit of the Americas. Hamilton, who competed for both the sprint and US Grand Prix pole positions and finished runner-up in both, was obviously pleased with this development.
Despite the fact that the FIA found excessive wear on the planks of Hamilton’s and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc’s rivals after the race, Mercedes still enters the Mexican Grand Prix with confidence following their performance in Austin.
Wolff knows that Red Bull will have switched focus to their RB20 for next season already, Red Bull principal Christian Horner hinting as early as the summer that this was the case, though Wolff feels Mercedes can be confident too considering the upgrade gave them the positive step they wanted.
“You shouldn’t forget that they probably completed the development of the current car three months ago and are already looking ahead to next year. That’s right, however, we now have another one. We’ve brought a big upgrade. The development direction is right. We wanted to see whether the subfloor worked.”
For a significant portion of the season, Red Bull and Verstappen’s championship victories in Japan and Qatar, respectively, seemed inevitable. However, Hamilton is looking forward to Formula One 2024 with newfound optimism in the form of a title challenge, believing he is one of the few drivers on the grid who can challenge Verstappen.
Before the US Grand Prix, he declared, “I’m praying every day that we will close the gap [to Red Bull] and we’ll hit the ground running.”
“I want to be fighting for the Championship, I want to be fighting Max. I believe I am one of the only drivers that can do so.
However, in addition to the vehicle, we also need to be performing better during our pit stops. We have to improve in so many areas before we can compete with the winners.
Hamilton still has a chance to finish second in the F1 2023 Drivers’ standings, but it will be difficult given his disqualification from the US Grand Prix, which leaves him 39 points behind Sergio Perez with four races left.
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