Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff believes that his team will be more competitive in the Singapore Grand Prix than they were in the Italian Grand Prix two weeks ago.
At Monza, Mercedes were the third-fastest team, with George Russell and Lewis Hamilton finishing fifth and sixth respectively.
However, Wolff is confident that the team will be able to improve on their performance in Singapore, a street circuit that is known to be challenging for all teams.
“We know that Singapore is a different kind of track,” Wolff said. “It’s a street circuit, which always makes it more difficult to overtake. But we also know that our car is good in these conditions, so we’re optimistic that we can be more competitive.”
Mercedes are currently second in the constructors’ championship, 43 points behind Red Bull. However, Wolff believes that the team is still in contention for the title, and he is hoping that a strong performance in Singapore will help them to close the gap to Red Bull.
“We maximised the result in Monza with the package we had,” he said. “That will be important across the rest of the season to secure second in the Constructors’.
“At a circuit that didn’t necessarily suit the characteristics of our car, we were still competitive.
The Singapore Grand Prix is a unique challenge for all teams, as the hot and humid conditions make it difficult for the drivers, team members, and cars.
However, the Mercedes team is confident that they can be competitive in Singapore, and they are hoping to continue their strong season.
“It’s encouraging to see that the W14 is performing well across a range of tracks. We’ve had some time to debrief an intense double header and we’re now heading into another one.
“Singapore is a unique challenge for every team. The hot and humid conditions are tough on the drivers, team members and the cars.
It’s a bumpy track and there are some changes to the layout for this year, too. It should make the lap more flowing and slightly kinder on the tyres.
“The battle with our nearest competitors is incredibly close. It’s hard to predict just how the order will shake out each weekend.
“Nonetheless, we typically perform better on high downforce tracks, so we’re hopeful of a competitive showing.”
