Frustrated Wolff “fed up” with Mercedes’ fluctuating W14 F1 car
George Russell topped final practice on Saturday morning but was unable to convert that performance into qualifying as he took fourth, nearly four-tenths adrift of pole sitter Max Verstappen.
Russell fared better than teammate Lewis Hamilton, who failed to reach Q3 for the second successive weekend on his way to a lowly 11th on the grid for Sunday’s season finale.
And Mercedes team principal Wolff admitted he is happy to see the back of the flawed W14 in qualifying.
"FP3 was dominant. Norris could have probably been there, and would have in qualifying by the way,” Wolff told Sky.
"It just didn't come together. Probably that's what was in the car. Expectations were higher.
"I'm fed up with having explanations on why it didn't go well. We were good in the hot, we weren't in the cold. Previous days it has been the other way around.
"I'm happy this was the last qualifying of the season and we will come with a new car.”
Hamilton was left adamant that something was wrong with his car after following the same set-up as Russell.
Asked about the seven-time world champion’s qualifying struggles, Wolff simply replied: "Just no grip. Contrary to George, pretty much all day today."
