After missing his first race in three years in Brazil, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is back and with a “point to prove” at the Abu Dhabi GP.
The Austrian opted to remain in Europe and then watched as the company made a successful start in Formula E with Stoffel Vandoorne in Saudi Arabia last weekend.
In his absence, however, the Formula 1 team had a disappointing race at Interlagos, suffering an engine issue with Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton eventually dropping seventh after being penalised for a late collision with Alex Albon.
“Brazil was a disappointing race for us; we did not have the fastest car on track and we lost a lot of points owing to our own mistakes,” said Wolff.
“We analysed what went wrong, both in terms of our reliability and our decisions during the race, to make sure we don’t repeat them.
“It was a good learning experience for the entire team and something that will make us stronger in the long run.”
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If there’s one place Mercedes can end on a high though, it’s Yas Marina where the team is unbeaten since 2014 and has a little extra motivation to avenge their Sao Paulo loss.
“The underperformance in Brazil means we head to Abu Dhabi with a point to prove,” Toto continued.
“The race is one last opportunity for us to add another victory to the record of the W10 and it’s one more chance to put on a great show for the fans before the winter break.
“We’re looking forward to the fight because we know that in Formula 1, you’re only as good as your last result.”
As it is the final round, the Mercedes boss also took time to reflect on another highly successful year with a record sixth straight double championship win but also one with some devastating moments.
“This season has been a real rollercoaster for us,” Wolff stated. “We’ve seen great on-track battles and we’ve loved the competition.
“We are very proud that we came out on top and managed to put the Mercedes name in the history books of Formula One with our sixth consecutive double title.
“On the other hand, it’s been an incredibly hard year where we had to say goodbye to too many friends.
“We were hit hard by the passing of Charlie [Whiting], Niki [Lauda] and Anthoine [Hubert], as well as important members from our team who we have tragically lost this year.
“At Mercedes, Niki left a void that we will never be able to replace – as a source of inspiration, as a voice of reason, but most importantly as a great friend. We hope we did you proud, Niki.”
