Wolff explains Hamilton, Mercedes surge

Toto Wolff has explained the processes that have helped Mercedes streak clear of Ferrari in the Formula 1 championships this season. Lewis Hamilton is within touching distance f the drivers' title after winning a Japanese Grand Prix in which Ferrari harmed their chances with a string of errors.

Sebastian Vettel crashed with Max Verstappen to drop to the back of the field, having had to fight from eighth place on the grid to the cusp of the top three after Ferrari messed up Q3 on Saturday.

While Mercedes have been far from error-free, Wolff says their approach to calling out mistakes and fixing them is in contrast to their rivals.

"We try to provide a safe place," he said. "You are allowed to make mistakes and to call them out. We have a motto that is 'see it, say it, fix it' and it means you're not scared for your job.

It’s @LewisHamilton’s day in the Land of the Rising Sun ????????pic.twitter.com/l0o8RP8lDY — Mercedes-AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) October 7, 2018

"In our Monday morning meeting we start with what mistakes we've made over the weekend. James [Vowles, chief strategist] is flying the aeroplane during the race, he's making the strategy calls – I'm distracting him a little bit – but he takes ownership when he's right and takes ownership when he's wrong."

Hamilton has won six of the last seven grands prix to urge towards a fifth world title, but Wolff says the Silver Arrows will not rest on their laurels.

"The step we've made since Spa is good. We enjoy doing what we do, we like the pressure and embrace it," he added.

"There's no better job than to race and have the lap times to improve it, we are a close knit of people.

"I think it's important to re-invent yourself as a team and set new objectives, we have ambitious targets, we haven't won either of the championships yet but we're still working towards it."

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