Reigning champions on the brink of more titles but hope to have response in Austin to growing Ferrari and Red Bull pace threat
Monday 30 October 2017 12:43, UK
Mercedes say they are ready to take lessons learned from recent races into a US GP weekend in which they could close out both world championship titles.
Over the last month F1's reigning champions have moved to the brink of a fourth title-double in a row, but have been concerned about their pace relative to season-long rivals Ferrari and fast-improving Red Bull.
After returning to the UK between races before flying on to North America for the US-Mexico double-header, Toto Wolff is confident the team have learnt some valuable lessons about their fast but inconsistent W08.
"We returned from those races with a lot more understanding of our car and of the reasons for the performance swings we have experienced this season," said the Mercedes boss.
"Some of that understanding is already being applied to the final races, some of it will flow into next year's project.
"But the bitter taste of our defeat in Malaysia once again confirmed that the tough days are the ones when you learn most - and when you lay the foundations for future success."
The strong likelihood is that Mercedes' immediate future will see at least one world title coronation in Austin.
The Anglo-German team will clinch their fourth successive Constructors' Championship on Sunday if Ferrari fail to outscore them by 17 points. The only race this season at which Ferrari scored 17 points more than Mercedes was May's Monaco GP.
Lewis Hamilton's title-winning chances are slimmer: he must outscore Sebastian Vettel by 16 points and team-mate Valtteri Bottas by three.
Wolff added: "We approach every race with a healthy dose of scepticism rather than wishful thinking, and our focus must be on making sure we score every point within our reach this weekend in Austin.
"Since we began the final flyaway leg of the season, we have seen a strong points swing in our favour in both championships. Good fortune has played its part, of course - and we have put ourselves in the right position to make the most of the opportunities that have come our way.
"But nobody within the team is allowing those good results to disguise the challenges we have faced."
While Ferrari's challenge has seemingly collapsed irretrievably amid a spate of unreliability, Mercedes' car has been almost bullet-proof this year with Wolff hailing the team's "obsessive attention to detail".
The Mercedes boss also reserved words of praise for his two drivers.
"Lewis has driven brilliantly this year - and since the summer break in particular, he has been on another level," said Wolff.
"It has been impressive to watch him extracting everything from the car and working with the team to solve problems and improve even further.
"Valtteri has had a tougher time in recent races - but he demonstrated his work ethic and character to deliver a strong weekend in Suzuka, and he will be aiming to build on this performance in the final four rounds."
