Mercedes expects intense weekend: 'It's a very different story this year'
F1 News
- GPblog.com
With eight races and one sprint race to go the season is already over. The battle for the world title between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen remains as exciting as ever with only five points difference in favour of the Dutchman. At Mercedes, they expect an intense weekend in Russia.
Intense triple-header
In Mercedes' preview of the weekend in Russia, Toto Wolff looks back on the past races. "After a demanding and intense triple-header race, we are ready to go again. Last time out in Monza was bittersweet - a strong performance and a strong result for Valtteri, but a feeling of missed points for Lewis, who had the potential to fight for victory."
Still, the Mercedes boss can look on the bright side. "The W12 looks competitive and with only eight races to go, it's now time to use our experience and focus on the details and processes that will put us over the top."
Good results in Sochi
Mercedes has proved unbeatable in Sochi so far. Starting in 2014, the team won every race. Four times with Hamilton, twice with Bottas and once with Nico Rosberg. The team, therefore, travels to Russia with confidence. "We hope to continue our successes in Russia, but we know it's a very different story this year and we expect another intense weekend."
Mercedes will be hoping to put in another strong weekend in Sochi and take back the lead in the World Cup with Hamilton. "Lewis is in the tenth championship battle of his F1 career, and he is mega focused on what he needs to perform over the next eight races. Valtteri is driving better than ever, as we saw at Monza - and he'll be full steam ahead every weekend. There is a calm determination in the team now and the business end of a season, fighting for championships, is exactly what we enjoy most."