A race win or beating Ferrari to P2? Wolff chooses what he’d prefer

Mercedes are on for their first winless season since 2011, with two races in Brazil and Abu Dhabi remaining.

It also means that Lewis Hamilton could go without a grand prix victory during a season for the first time in his career.

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After a tough start to the year, Mercedes have slowly been reducing the gap to Red Bull and Ferrari.

They now sit 40 points behind Ferrari in the race for second in the constructors’ standings.

Looking ahead to the final two races, Wolff made it clear about what he’d rather see Mercedes achieve.

“A win,” Wolff said. “The win would be proof that our car is back to fight for wins. P2 could also be that others dropped the ball and you’re just scoring more points.

“It would definitely be some consolation. Second – because Ferrari had the quickest car at the beginning of the season. Finishing ahead of them would be great, but again it’s not our main priority. The main priority is understanding the car and having a quick automobile on the track.”

Mercedes have out-paced Ferrari in Austin and Mexico, but Wolff is unsure if they are truly the second-best team behind Red Bull.

“I wouldn’t want to say that,” he added. “They are a strong team, we’ve had a few good Sundays now but maybe (Mexico) circuit flattered us. I think after Brazil we will have more of a picture, but I don’t think they’re suddenly half a minute slower than us.

“The thing is, we are racers. At the moment, we can kind of see it in front of us, we just want to grab it. Therefore, there is a sense of frustration but I absolutely agree with you, we’ve come from such a long way.

“Here we are, we’re racing for a win, we’re racing for both cars on the podium. The Ferraris are behind us, so you need to stay humble of what we achieved while still reaching for the stars.”