F1 2023: Toto Wolff says Mercedes car 'does not deserve to win' this year

Toto Wolff, Mercedes team boss, strongly criticized his team's performance at the Brazilian Grand Prix, calling it inexcusable. He likened their car's performance to a three-wheeler and expressed disappointment. The race, which saw Max Verstappen and Red Bull dominating, resulted in Lewis Hamilton finishing eighth and George Russell, last year's victor, retiring.
Wolff expressed his frustration, stating, "I don't have words for that. The car had a strong finish last week, but its performance this time was terrible. Lewis managed to complete the race, but George didn't, and I sympathize with both of them for dealing with such a challenging car. It highlights the car's difficulty, and improvements are necessary for the next year to avoid such drastic performance declines within a week."

He further commented that their performance on sprint race weekends does not align with their world champion status. Despite their on-track efforts, they remain puzzled about what went wrong. Wolff compared the car's handling to that of a vehicle with only three wheels and emphasized that it does not deserve a victory.
Hamilton also shared his thoughts on the race, mentioning that it felt better in terms of tire management than the previous day. However, he expressed frustration with the car's inconsistency, particularly regarding speed on straights and corners.
Ferrari's drivers faced their own difficulties, with Carlos Sainz finishing in sixth place and Charles Leclerc unable to start the race due to issues with his Ferrari engine affecting steering and hydraulics. Leclerc lamented the loss of a weekend he had built confidence in and considered a visit to Lourdes to change his luck before the next race in Los Angeles.