Wolff: Finishing second not 'one dimensional' for Mercedes

Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff believes that it was importantfor the outfit to secure second in the Formula 1 Constructors'Championship. The team managed to clinch the runner up spot afterbeating Ferrari by three points at the final, after both GeorgeRussell and Lewis Hamilton finished inside the top ten and CarlosSainz failed to finish. It was a surprise end to the season forMercedes given they failed to win a race and started off on theback foot with the W14, while Ferrari was the only non-Red Bullteam to win a race at the Singapore Grand Prix with Sainz. But theconsistency shown by Hamilton and Russell throughout the seasonenabled them to outscore Ferrari, particularly midway through theyear after Mercedes introduced a major update package to their car.Wolff: I wasn't expecting joy from finishing second When askedabout whether finishing second will boost the moral of the team,Wolff said: "That's a very good question because it's not onedimensional. "From a mindset perspective, if you would have askedme at the beginning of the season, I would have said it's not veryrelevant whether we finish P2 or P3. "The sporting advantage isthat you have more wind tunnel time for next year." Teams willreceive more aerodynamic testing time based on where they finishedin the season, with Mercedes set for a 75% allocation at thebeginning of the year compared to 70% for Red Bull and 80% forFerrari. Wolff also pointed to the financial benefit of finishingsecond in the championship, which enables the team to pay out moreto their staff. "But then there is a financial component for allour staff in terms of bonus," said Wolff. "I need to look aftereveryone together with my senior management. And therefore, it is avery important component, even though maybe from the sporting side,it is not so relevant. "Having finished second in the WorldChampionship that evening, it felt great. I wasn't expecting tohave that feeling. You could see a boost of morale and emotion thatwas going through the team and that was important."