Wolff disappointed with Mercedes: 'This is one to put in the toilet'

Mercedes will start the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix from fifth and sixth, after a disappointing final qualifying session of the season. The gap to pole sitter Max Verstappen was over six tenths of a second, to the alarm of the German team. Toto Wolff believes Mercedes did choose the right set-up, but the team boss acknowledges that Ferrari took a step forward on Saturday.

"Some said it's World Toilet Day so this is one to put in the toilet. We just didn't get the job done.," Wolff began in conversation with Sky Sports. After the success in Brazil, where George Russell managed to win the sprint race and the main Grand Prix, the team had hoped for a slightly better pace in the final race weekend of the season. Yet Mercedes did expect to underperform at the Yas Marina circuit.

"I think we didn't get the job done. I think we went backwards, and they [Ferrari] did a little step forwards. We went on a high downforce, high track concept to have a good race car tomorrow that was so slow on the straights that it didn't give anything. But we believe that it was so much better to have more downforce to protect the tyres. Let's see," the Austrian continued.

Brake problems for Hamilton

Hamilton complained of problems with his brakes during qualifying. Wolff indicated that it was a strange situation, with only the left brake not reacting the same as the right. This disturbs the car when braking. "It's a big one [to solve] in winter," said the Mercedes team boss.