Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is vowing a response from his team after one of their worst weekends of the season in Singapore.
Last Sunday marked just the second time this season that neither Lewis Hamilton nor Valtteri Bottas stood on the podium and also equalled their longest winless streak in the hybrid era having lost the past three races.
What was particularly stunning about the race at Marina Bay was how tamely Mercedes was beaten, as Ferrari and Red Bull both outsmarted them and it is that which particularly has Wolff’s attention.
“Straight after the race, we started to analyse what went wrong in Singapore and we will use those lessons to learn and improve,” he said in his Russian GP preview.
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“These difficult days are the ones that make us stronger, this team has shown time and again that it can turn weaknesses into strengths and we will do so again, here.
“That shouldn’t take anything away from the strength of our opposition, either,” the Austrian noted. “The last seven races have shown us that we are in the midst of a fierce battle and we need to be at our best in every area to claim the top step of the podium.”
If there is one circuit that Mercedes would want to visit to get their season back on track it is the Sochi Autodrom, a venue the team has never lost at in five visits.
“Sochi has been a strong circuit for us in recent years but those trends don’t mean anything once we are on the ground,” Wolff claimed.
“We expect the weekend ahead to be another challenging one for us – and the entire team is ready to tackle that challenge head-on.
“The circuit features a range of corner speeds, unusually smooth asphalt and long straights, particularly on the run down to Turn 2. We’re hungry to get to Sochi and begin fighting out on track.”