Wolff: We've taken a good step but Mercedes W14 is tricky

Previewing the forthcoming 2023 Sao Paulo Grand Prix, Wolff started by looking back on the past weekend: "We came away from Mexico with our advantage over Ferrari in the fight for second in the Constructors' intact. That is an important battle for us and one we are focused on winning."

Stats show the Mexico City GP on Sunday was a points stalemate as both teams bagged exactly 27, which means Mercedes hangs on to second by 22 points over Ferrari with three GPs plus a Sprint left for points to be scored.

Hamilton was mighty in Mexico, only Max Verstappen in the Red Bull was better than the Mercedes man when it mattered. But still not close enough as the half-second-per-lap-or-more advantage the #1 Red Bull could turn on when required.

Nevertheless, it is cause for optimism as Hamilton, who now appears to be having more input into the way the car is developed/upgraded than he had last year when he lamented that the team had not listened to him when he told them the zero-sidepod concept was not the way to go.

Now that they appear to be listening, Hamilton, the W14 is getting better in his hands lately as second place on Sunday at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez testifies.

Wolff continued: "Leaving Mexico with a second-place finish, given the challenging start to the weekend and our grid positions, was positive. The car showed a very good race pace however we know we've got more work to do to extract the maximum from the W14 across all three days.

"Lewis put in a very strong performance to score a podium and George gave it absolutely everything, even when his tyres had gone off at the end," and therewith Wolff inadvertently, or not, touched on the difference between the two Mercedes drivers.

While Hamilton still rises, Russell's shares have flatlined, if not dipped, as he is simply not managing to extract what his seven-time F1 World Champion teammate is able to of late. Could it be that George's tyre management skills are not quite up to the level of his teammate?

Or is it because he opts to go in different directions with race strategy compared to Hamilton, to avoid confrontation? Or simply his style does not suit the direction the W14 is evolving?

Whatever the case, Russell heads to the venue of his maiden F1 victory last year in Sao Paulo and should fancy his chances provided the W14 is not too "tricky" as the boss mentioned.

Looking at Round 20 (of 22) this weekend at Interlagos, in Sao Paulo, Wolff said: "We've got one last race in this triple header and it's in Brazil. We know we've taken a good step forward in recent races, but Mexico showed the W14 can still prove tricky to master.

"We will look to arrive in Interlagos with a solid baseline to work with and we'll see what we can do from there. Of course, we have fond memories from Brazil, especially the past two visits with Lewis' spectacular win in 2021 and George's first victory in 2022.

"The fans are super passionate about F1, and we always get such an enthusiastic reception from them. Hopefully, our package will run well there, and we can put on a good show for everyone," added Wolff.