Wolff reveals what he aims to achieve at the Italian Grand Prix
Following an up-and-down weekend for Mercedes last time out at the Dutch Grand Prix, Toto Wolff has revealed that he aims to achieve "a more consistent and straightforward" performance at this weekend's Monza race.
Mercedes endured a hectic start to the final 10 races of the season last time out at Zandvoort. The German-British outfit had looked very competitive in all three practice sessions, but things started to slightly derail after George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli could only qualify fifth and eleventh, respectively.
Russell appreared to struggle for race pace in the early stages of the 72-lap Dutch Grand Prix before he had a contact with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc which led to him picking up significant floor damage. However, with the retirement of Leclerc and Norris, he ended up fourth which was a reseasonable result considering his issues.
His team-mate Kimi Antonelli benefitted from a safety car period after which he displayed an impressive race pace. While he was on a good trajectory, his march towards the front was halted when he attempted an overly ambitious manoeuvre on Leclerc which sent the Monegasque into the wall while the Italian picked up a ten-second penalty for the incident.
Speaking ahead of this weekend's Italian Grand Prix, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff admitted that he aims to have a more straightforward weekend.
"We head to Monza aiming for a more consistent and straightforward weekend than at Zandvoort. At times, we looked to have decent pace that would enable us to fight for the podium.
“Despite starting P11, Kimi progressed through the field well and, were it not for the contact with Leclerc, would likely have been challenging those ahead in the closing stages.
“For George, his race was also compromised by an incident with the Ferrari. He did a good job to bring solid points home in P4 despite carrying significant floor damage.”
With the Italian Grand Prix having been on every single calendar since the sport’s inception in 1950, the sport is moving to a more traditional venue, but the Monza circuit is a unique one, featuring a very different set of requirements with its long straights and slow-speed concerns.
“The Italian Grand Prix is a special weekend with a great atmosphere," Wolff continues. "For Kimi it is a second home race of the season. Whilst that will be exciting for him, we know his focus will be 100 per cent on doing the job on track.”
“The competitive order behind McLaren is close and we will have to be at our best if we are to continue closing the gap to second in the Constructors',” said Toto.
