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Wolff: Starting second and finishing fourth is not Mercedes

Wolff: "Starting second and finishing fourth is not Mercedes"

26-09-2019 14:38
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Nicolás Quarles van Ufford

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has said that "starting second and finishing fourth is not Mercedes," as Ferrari have now won three races in a row compared to the Silver Arrows' two wins in the last seven races.

The German works team is still comfortably ahead in both championships and something quite extraordinary would have to happen for Ferrari to catch them in either title race, but the recent dip in form clearly bothers Wolff.

In Singapore, a poor strategy call meant Lewis Hamilton dropped two places and finished outside of the podium places in P4, with teammate Valtteri Bottas right behind while Ferrari secured a massive one-two.

Wolff called the Ferrari engine a "monster", but he also recognised his team fluffed their lines during the race.

“Starting second and finishing fourth, that’s not Mercedes,” Wolff told German broadcasters RTL on Sunday when reviewing the Silver Arrows' race in Singapore.

“I said this morning that we should take the risk and do the undercut, but we didn’t,” Lewis Hamilton also admitted after the race.

“It feels like Ferrari are hungrier than us. We’ve just got to stop dragging our feet and get on.”