F1 News: Danica Patrick Is Concerned About "Defeated And Frustrated" Mercedes Team Boss After Las Vegas GP

The Mercedes team is yet to score a win this season.

Former Nascar And IndyCar driver Danica Patrick revealed that Mercedes team principal and CEO Toto Wolff looked “defeated and frustrated” after the Las Vegas Grand Prix, considering the long and pressuring season the team went through. 

With just one Grand Prix remaining, another season went by, but Mercedes have not been able to score a win yet. Though the team holds the second spot in the Constructors' Championship, it is just ahead of Ferrari in third by a mere four points.

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During the inaugural Grand Prix weekend, Wolff displayed his frustration at a Journalist for raising concerns about the event, which saw drivers George Russell and Lewis Hamilton secure the eighth and seventh place respectively.

Despite the seven podium finishes that the team could boast about, Mercedes has had a rather bumpy 2023 season, and Patrick feels that the demands of a lengthy and arduous season are taking a toll on Wolff. She said:

“They’ve got so much better throughout the year, but nothing to show for it.

“You can sense, Toto looked defeated, frustrated, tired maybe. Christian [Horner] was talking about the timing of this event.

“It’s been a long year, everybody is wearing down, so I’m sure it’s feeling extra heavy to them now, especially when they have bad days – especially when they get glimmers of hope.”

The Las Vegas Grand Prix came with its own set of challenges as Hamilton's car suffered a puncture after making contact with Oscar Piastri's McLaren. He then took a full lap of the track before pitting, which made him lose positions before he could recover back to the points. 

George Russell on the other hand, dropped from fourth to eighth on the grid after receiving a five-second penalty for making contact with Max Verstappen on lap 25, for which he took full responsibility. 

Commenting on Piastri's incident with Hamilton, Sky F1 Pundit Karun Chandhok said:

“I thought both he and Lewis were unfortunate.

“Both had amazing pace. When I watch back their races, Lewis lost 15 seconds on his in-lap with that puncture and was at the back of the queue.

“Oscar as well, was so fast towards the end on a hard tyre which was much older than other people’s; he was quicker than Ocon and Stroll.

“So I think without that incident and the time loss with the puncture, both he and Lewis wouldn’t have been far off Perez and Leclerc, and might have even been in that fight.”