'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAHAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFgABAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMH/8QAFQEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQL/2gAMAwEAAhADEAAAAMHgM//EAB8QAAICAQQDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAECAwQRAAUSIRNCcf/aAAgBAQABPwCK5TgpW4VRpnlHESSdNHhgQy/R0dLNtnEeR7of2xjGdf/EABURAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAB/9oACAECAQE/AI//xAAUEQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA/9oACAEDAQE/AH//2Q=='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Mercedes boss, Toto Wolff, addressed his team's underwhelming performance at last weekend's Italian GP and revealed the probable reason behind it. Speaking about it in a post-race interview, Wolff stated that the reason behind their poor performance was not one, but a combination of multiple factors, including driver error, tires, and others.
Mercedes faced a far from impressive result at last weekend's Monza race, where George Russell qualified in P5 on Saturday, ahead of his teammate, Kimi Antonelli. In the race, they failed to make amends as Russell came home in 5th place, while Antonelli was down in 9th place.
This result was nowhere when compared to its Constructors' Championship rivals, Ferrari and Red Bull. Ferrari had two drivers in points as Charles Leclerc finished in P4, while his teammate, Lewis Hamilton, came home in P6.
Trending
On the other hand, Max Verstappen, Red Bull's star driver, won the race, ahead of the McLaren duo — Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. As Mercedes did not have a performance worthy of remembering, Wolff shared his thoughts on their outing.
"Yeah, it was a tough day today," Wolff told the media after the race. "You can clearly see there's only one guy who makes everybody look bad and stupid. Our car just didn't have the pace. Generally, I think over the weekend, all of us didn't perform on the level you need in order to make it to the podium."
"I mean, all around, there's never one reason. You know, the combination between tyres, the chassis, the drivers—all need to go hand in hand. And if there's just one weak link, you are losing. If two or three, then obviously you have no chance," he further added.
Currently, Mercedes are in contention for P2 in the Constructors' Championship with Ferrari and Red Bull. They are in P3 with 260 points, and they trail Ferrari by 20 points and lead Red Bull by 21 points.
Mercedes engineer explained Kimi Antonelli's poor start to Italian GP
Mercedes deputy technical director, Simone Resta, shared an explanation behind Kimi Antonelli's poor start at the Italian GP. Speaking about the young Italian driver's start at Monza, here's what Resta said in Mercedes' Akkodis show,
"Essentially, Kimi, after a quite consistent sequence of start practice, he wasn't able to go right on the target in terms of clutch position, and that essentially created a lot of spin in the first phase of the start, in the position, in P10."
After 16 races and three Sprints, the Silver Arrows driver George Russell is in P4 in the Drivers' Championship with 194 points. His teammate, Kimi Antonelli, is in P7 with 66 points. Oscar Piastri continues to lead the championship with 324 points, ahead of his teammate, Lando Norris.
