Mercedes’s recent upturn in performance was expected to carry on at the US GP. However, both Silver Arrows suffered from a dismal qualifying session and ended their races disappointingly. Lewis Hamilton suffered from a DNF three laps into the race with George Russell facing a five-second penalty.

Hence, Toto Wolff confessed that the German carmaker returned back to being the ‘underdog’. Lewis Hamilton scored two race wins with George Russell winning one amidst Mercedes’s improving pace this year. Following the disappointing end to the US GP, Toto Wolff reckoned that the team was back to ‘underdog status’.

However, the team principal made it clear that this didn’t mean the team was back to their pre-summer pace where they were unable to amass any great results. We’re back to underdog status. We are not back to the pre-summer situation.

Toto Wolff told motorsport. comWolff pointed out that Mercedes wasn’t heading into the race weekend thinking about winning the events. On the contrary, the team’s performance started to decline as they became the fourth fastest team on the grid at the US GP.

As a result, Brackley would have to work harder on their pace for the five remaining races in the 2024 season. It’s not about coming into the weekend and thinking we’re going to win this. It’s more going into the weekend and thinking at the moment we’re the fourth team on the road.

Toto Wolff addedRELATEDEx-F1 driver reveals ‘super talent’ who would be ‘ideal replacement’ for Max Verstappen at Red BullMercedes’s upgrade package ‘behaved’ as expected at US GPMercedes brought a massive upgrade package to the improving W15 at the US GP in hopes of gaining additional pace. However, despite the disappointing results for the German carmaker, Toto Wolff was still hopeful. The 52-year-old highlighted that the upgrade package behaved as expected according to the team’s measures.

The chassis didn’t produce any problems and the team is hopeful to enjoy the benefits of these upgrades for the five remaining races. All the things we measured suggested that the upgrade package was behaving as we would expect, the downforce was there. We did not see prior to the spins anything breaking down on the flow structures under the car.

There is every reason to think the updates were good and we will enjoy that for the remainder of the year. Toto Wolff notedToto Wolff (via IMAGO)The 2024 season has peaked in competition and excitement amidst the fierce tussles between top teams on the grid. Despite Mercedes’s improving pace, the team has little to no chance to contend for the championship.

McLaren, Red Bull, and Ferrari have showcased way too competitive pace for the German carmaker to catch up by the end of the season. RELATEDMcLaren accuses rivals of ‘psychological warfare’ in relation to MCL38’s rear wing controversy