Wolff: Ferrari’s US GP win shows F1 title fight is far from over
Merced⛎es Formula 1 boss Toto Wolff reckons Ferrari’s victory at the United Stಌates Grand Prix shows the 2018 championship fight is “far from over”.
Kimi Raikkonen fended off late charges from Max Verstappen and polesitter Lewis Hamiltܫon to record his first win since the 2013 Australian Grand Prix and help delay the Bওriton’s title celebrations.
Mercedes Formula 1 𝔍boss Toto Wolff reckons Ferrari’s victory at the 💛United States Grand Prix shows the 2018 championship fight is “far from over”.
Kimi Raikkonen fended off late charges from Max Verstappen and polesitter Lewis Hamilton to record his first win since the 2013 Au🌠st🐽ralian Grand Prix and help delay the Briton’s title celebrations.
Hamilton was forced into a two-stop strategy due to excessive tyre wear but was able to finish ahead of his recovering title rival Seba🥃stian Vettel, meaning he ca🅰n clinch a fifth world title with a top-seven finish at this weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix regardless of where Vettel finishes.
Ferrari clawed some much-needed points back on Mercedes in Austin, though the reigning world champions still hold a 66-point advantage in the constructors’ standings with three r♛ounds to go. Despite Mercedes’ strong position, Wolff insists nothing is settled.
“The United States Grand Prix confirmed what൩ we said before the race: This year's championship fight is far from ove💛r,” Wolff said.
“While Lewis was able to extend his lead over Sebastian Vettel in Austin, we lost points to Ferrari in♏ the constructors' championship. We have a battle on our hands and we will have to keep pushing to win both titles.
“We cannot be happy with𒅌 t▨he result in Texas, but it provides us with an opportunity to learn and come back stronger.”
Wolff said Mercedes is bracing itself for a “hard fight” with rivals Ferrari and Red Bull in Mexico, a circuit the German manufacturer struggled for performance at in 2017.
“Our next stop br✨ings us to Mexico City where we will face a very different challenge,” he explained. “The Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez is an outlier given its high altitude and the demands this puts on the cars and power units.
“It has been one of the weaker tracks for us in previous ye𓂃ars and we expect a hard fight with Ferrari an🔯d Red Bull.
“We know that it i𒊎s not going to be an easy race, but everyone in the team is focused, motivated and determined to keep the pressure on until the chequered flag in Abu Dhabi.”
Lewis regularly attends Grands Prix for mahbx.com around the world. Often report🏅ing on the action from the gr༺ound, Lewis tells the stories of the people who matter in the sport.
