Portugal GP 2020 - GP preview - Mercedes F1

Toto Wolff

Seeing Lewis cross the line in Germany and take his 91st victory was a very special moment. Valtteri’s race, however, could not have gone much worse, going from pole position to a DNF and a significant points loss for him in the Drivers’ Championship. It was undoubtedly a tough blow at this stage of the season. We have identified a failed electrical component in the Control Electronics as the cause of the problem and the evidence suggests that swift action in retiring the car prevented mechanical damage to his Power Unit.

A DNF is always tough for a driver, but one of Valtteri’s biggest strengths is his resilience and his ability to bounce back, so I’m sure he’ll be eager to hit the track in Portugal. Portimão is the second completely new circuit of the season, which adds some variability to the potential performance picture. We had an exciting race at Mugello, the first new venue this year, and since then we have focused on preparing in the best way possible for the other new circuits and maximising the rate of learning when we go to a new track – something that will be especially important during the two-day weekend in Imola next week.

The car’s performance was good in the last few events both in Qualifying and in the race and we hope that we can maintain the momentum.

Video - Mercedes F1 - Portimao :