Toto Wolff revels in ‘underperformance’ of rival F1 driver as Mexico City GP highlight

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Mercedes endured a disappointing time at the Mexico City Grand Prix but team boss Toto Wolff celebrated the ‘underperformance’ of a rival given he personally benefits.

The Silver Arrows ended Sunday’s race in fourth and fifth place after Lewis Hamilton passed teammate George Russell late on. But Mercedes were only 10 seconds away from a podium finish after Ferrari pitted Charles Leclerc late on to set the fastest lap of the Mexico City GP.

Ferrari brought the Monegasque in for a fresh set of soft Pirelli tyres to steal the extra point off McLaren as the Scuderia strengthened their bid for the constructors’ championship. The Maranello giants have pipped Red Bull to be McLaren’s nearest threat with four rounds left.

Toto Wolff revels in Charles Leclerc’s ‘underperformance’ in the Mexican Grand Prix

Heading into this weekend’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix to close out the first of two triple-headers to end the season, Ferrari trail McLaren by 29 points and now lead Red Bull by 25. Mercedes are not in the fight for the teams’ title, with the Silver Arrows 146 points from the top three.

Yet while Mercedes were also mainly in a race of their own as Hamilton hounded Russell for P4 in the Mexico City GP, team principal Wolff loved ‘the show’ at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. As a 33% co-owner of the team, the Austrian liked rival drivers making headlines.

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Wolff particularly enjoyed seeing Carlos Sainz win the Mexico City GP for Ferrari, home hero Sergio Perez struggle for Red Bull, Max Verstappen create controversy after his illegal moves on Lando Norris and Leclerc underdeliver for Ferrari as he personally benefits as a co-owner.

“Yes, it’s great for the show,” Wolff told OE24. “We all benefit from it, including me as a co-owner of a team. If the show is good, then business is good.

“In Mexico, there was a little something for everyone – Sainz’s performance, Leclerc’s underperformance, Perez’s non-performance, polarizing accidents [and] our drivers as tough racers. But our first priority is to win.”

Charles Leclerc rued his qualifying and almost ended the Ferrari driver’s Mexico City GP

Leclerc secured Ferrari third place in the Mexico City GP, as Sainz took the race win by 4.705 seconds ahead of Norris. The Monegasque even took the chequered flag 34.387s behind his soon-to-be former teammate. Leclerc was also over 10 seconds back before his late pit stop.

While Sainz recovered from a forceful move by Verstappen at the start of the Mexico City GP to dominate the race, Leclerc could not match the pace the Spaniard set. His mistake also let Norris through for P2 as Leclerc lost control of his SF-24 exiting the final corner on Lap 62.

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Norris would likely have overtaken Leclerc without the 27-year-old losing the rear end of his car through the right-hander. But the error almost ended the Monte Carlo native’s race with Leclerc only just avoiding the barriers before returning to the circuit losing ground to Norris.

Even qualifying saw Leclerc launch a foul-mouthed reaction after Sainz won pole position for the Mexico City GP. He rued the lap the 26-time pole-sitter produced as the Spaniard sealed the sixth of his career. Sainz set a 1:15.946 lap in Q3, while Leclerc could only set a 1:16.265.