Russian Grand Prix – Mercedes’ team boss Toto Wolff says that the team are staying focused on fighting for wins as the 2018 season reaches its climax.

Mercedes head to Russia on the back of two consecutive wins at two very different circuit types. From the fast sweeps of Monza where Lewis Hamilton fought against and defeated Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, to the sinuous Singapore circuit where Hamilton relentlessly pulled away from the field against all expectation, Russia is a fast blast around the former Winter Olympics venue in Sochi.

With six races remaining, Mercedes & Hamilton appear to have one hand on the Driver’s & Constructor’s Championships but, with Ferrari still very fast, Wolff says the team aren’t backing off until the job is done: “It’s obviously better to have a lead than to not have it, but there are six races remaining and plenty of points to score, so it doesn’t give us any comfort. We will continue to concentrate on every single session, trying to optimise the car in every possible area – and we will go for the race win. There is no naïve optimism about our situation within the team: our mind-set is very positive, we are energised, the factories are buzzing and we’re excited for the fight that we will certainly have in the next six races.”

Mercedes have a 100% win record in Russia and, with Ferrari defeated in Singapore, history suggests form is in their favour heading to Sochi. However, Wolff says he still believes that every victory in 2018 will be a tough ask:

“We showed an excellent performance in Singapore and the victory was a fantastic reward for all the hard work that had gone into it. But it also reinforced another point: there are no easy wins this season. We have to fight hard for every bit of performance in order to have a chance to fight for victories.



“We have a good track record in Sochi but we know that Ferrari and Red Bull will give it everything to break our winning streak, so we must fight as hard as ever to make sure we bring home as many points as possible.”