“We have made a positive start to the season, but it is only that. In both Australia and China, we had several close calls that could have ended our weekend”
– Toto Wolff
| Key Point | Summary |
| Strong start, but concerns remain | Wolff says Mercedes have started well, but admits they were fortunate with reliability and still have issues to fix. |
| Antonelli must keep building | He stresses Antonelli’s win is just the beginning, with bigger expectations and continuous learning ahead. |
| Focus on Suzuka challenge | Wolff hopes for exciting racing in Japan, despite overtaking difficulties, with new rules potentially helping. |
George Russell, meanwhile, will be eager to bounce back after maximising his result despite a technical issue in qualifying that prevented him from putting everything together.
In the usual preview ahead of the Suzuka weekend, the Austrian highlighted the team’s strong start to the season, while also pointing out what hasn’t gone to plan and where improvements will be needed to prevent those issues from recurring.
“We have made a positive start to the season, but it is only that. In both Australia and China, we had several close calls that could have ended our weekend. These cars are new and fragile; we were fortunate that none of the issues we faced severely compromised our results. We have work to do to make sure that continues to be the case.
Photo: Race Pictures
“However, his focus and ours are on what is ahead. His first victory is a first step and all that matters is how he builds on it. We will support him to navigate the expectations that come with performing at the front more consistently.”
He finally added: “We’re also hopeful that the exciting racing we saw in Melbourne and Shanghai will continue in Japan. Suzuka is one of the world’s great race tracks but it has, in recent years, been a difficult place to overtake. Hopefully under these new regulations we can put on a good show for the fans.
Wolff blasted for ‘total self-promotion’ after maiden Antonelli victory
He argued that there was no need to justify anything in that moment, stressing that the spotlight should have remained entirely on the win instead of revisiting previous scepticism. According to Steiner, Antonelli’s talent is already widely recognised across the paddock, making any attempt to underline prior belief redundant.
He went on to suggest that emphasising that support risked taking something away from the driver’s accomplishment, as the result in China was down to Antonelli alone. In his view, moments like that should be about the driver’s performance, not about reinforcing who backed him along the way.