Toto Wolff says Mercedes knows how Ferrari must be feeling after seeing both its drivers eliminated from the Singapore Grand Prix on the opening lap.
Ferrari suffered a major blow in both championships when polesitter Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen tangled with Max Verstappen moments after the start. Lewis Hamilton capitalised to take a 28-point lead over Vettel in the drivers' championship, while Valtteri Bottas' third place helped Mercedes open up a 102-point buffer in the constructors'.
Wolff and Mercedes had to deal with several high-profile collisions in the past few years and he had a sympathetic tone after the race.
"In the morning we were talking about damage limitation, and we go our away from Singapore with a P1 and P3," Wolff said. "So, from our perspective it's a great result.
"But once that's happened you can kind of feel for Ferrari. I've been in the situation of losing both cars, and you can relate how awful that thing could be. But then, I guess we're not here to make prisoners. So from the moment on it was clear we were in the lead with Lewis, it was about delivering the best result possible for the race."
The drama on lap one meant Hamilton found himself leading the first lap, having started from fifth on the grid. The championship leader had to overcome a tricky race, which included several Safety Car restarts, to win and Wolff thinks Hamilton once again proved his worth to the team.
"On a difficult day you'd like Lewis in the car. This was another example of that. It was more chance of making a mistake than driving on."
When asked about the controversial collision which changed the course of the race, Wolff suggested he agreed with the FIA's decision it was a racing incident.
"I think what happened is that Sebastian pulling over didn't see that Kimi was on the inside. It was about defending against Max who was there, and I guess it's very difficult to see if there is a third car on the left, and that caused the collision."