Toto Wolff says Mercedes cannot afford to rest on its laurels despite the remarkable turnaround at the Singapore Grand Prix which moved the team closer towards both Formula One championships.
A weekend which looked set to be about damage limitations turned in to a race from Mercedes' wildest dreams as polesitter Sebastian Vettel was caught up an opening-lap collision with teammate Kimi Raikkonen and Red Bull's Max Verstappen. Lewis Hamilton capitalised to win -- opening up a 28-point lead over Vettel in the title fight -- while Valtteri Bottas' third place helped Mercedes move 102 points clear in the constructors' standings.
With the majority of the six circuits left to run on the calendar seemingly suiting Mercedes, Singapore would appear to be a pivotal moment in the championship, but team boss Wolff is not getting carried away.
"We musn't drop the ball," he said after the race. "But clearly you wouldn't feel comfortable in Ferrari's shoes having a 28-point deficit. So whatever the perspective is, from my opinion, and this is how we've done it in the last years, we just need to do continue and get on with the job. Lots of time for cheering when we've actually done it."
Hamilton trailed Vettel in the championship all the way until his win in Italy, the race before Singapore, but Wolff does not think the Englishman will make any changes to how he approaches each of the remaining races now he finds himself with a comfortable advantage.
When asked what the 28-point lead does for Hamilton psychologically, Wolff said: "I think you need to ask him, but I would expect him not to let up. I think he just needs to continue. You cannot let up. There are six races to go, 6 x 25 points to score, but it's clear you'd rather have a 28-point gap than not."