‘The stupidest thing I’ve ever done’ – Wolff reflects on ’embarrassing’ radio message that ‘could have ruled out’ Russell from Austrian GP

Meanwhile, despite luck playing a big part in Mercedes’ first win in a year and a half, Wolff said the team’s “upward trend” in recent races had given him hope that the Silver Arrows could claim victory at real pace in the coming races.

“In terms of pace, we were the third fastest car, and we have been for the last three weekends, and it is very encouraging to see the upward trend and the consolidation of that trend,” said Wolff.

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“But the race is on Sunday and… today we took advantage of the incident at the front. It’s good to have this victory in our pocket this year.

“That means four teams have won races this year, and it’s only been one year (2023) since we’ve won a race since 2012, and that’s good to know. And certainly the team now has a lot of momentum to get to a point where we’re able to challenge for a win with some real performances – and I think we will.”

Fourth-placed Mercedes’ 45 points from the weekend in Austria – the most of any team – helped it close the gap to third-placed McLaren to 72 points.