Wolff: Ferrari has made a step back

In the aftermath of the Belgian Grand Prix where Ferrari took the fight to Mercedes and nearly upset them on a power circuit, much was expected for the Italian Grand Prix a week later but Toto Wolff was (like most) was surprised that Ferrari went AWOL on their home circuit.

It would not be an over-statement to say that Mercedes trounced Ferrari in front of the tifosi. Lewis Hamilton snatched the F1 world championship points lead from Sebastian Vettel (who had led since the start of the season) and did so by powering to an easy victory, ominously crossing the line 36 seconds before the best placed Ferrari.

Wolff told reporters after Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas finished one-two in Italy, "For me Ferrari has made a step back – somehow. Yes, we have been very solid, but they have not performed in the way everybody had expected. Red Bull starting from the back of the grid and almost finishing in P3 is something that is probably very difficult to swallow."

"It was a faultless race for us. We had no problems whatsoever. We were gently excited about our pace today and collecting those valuable points, looking ahead to Singapore was really important."

"It's had those swings this season, tracks where we were really good and others we struggled. Ferrari lacked performance here from the get go and Singapore shouldn't be what our lady [ the Mercedes W08] likes but we will do a good job to try and make the best car possible."

"When you look back one week, everyone thought Ferrari would be further behind but they were giving us a really hard time. With these new cars it's about learning the lessons and understanding Ferrari lacks answers today, we were lacking answers in some of the other races."

"We see some deficits and strong points and now it's about checking the boxes and having the best possible car. After the start it looked like it could be another difficult race for Valtteri. But he made his way back and scored a fantastic second place."

Apart from keeping an eye on the two Silver Arrows, Wolff was also watching the action behind them "Esteban and Lance, with all the tough stuff they were getting, they did great racing. We were watching with curiosity if Daniel could catch Sebastian. Maybe Ferrari just didn't find the sweet-spot of the car or tyre."