Mercedes 'got out of jail free' to lead into Portimão - Wolff

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff believes his team 'got out of jail free' at Imola after Red Bull failed to capitalise on a "rollercoaster" race for the Silver Arrows.

Mercedes arrive in Portugal still leading both the drivers' and constructors' championships despite seeing both drivers crash at Imola last time out.

When the race was red-flagged on lap 33 caused by Valtteri Bottas' race-ending incident with George Russell, Lewis Hamilton was out of the points and a lap down.

Despite Max Verstappen taking victory, Sergio Perez failed to score after faltering and with Hamilton recovering to finish second, Wolff feels Red Bull failed to capitalise.

"Imola was a crazy race and the kind of grand prix that lives long in the memory," said Wolff.

"There were so many ups and downs and there were a few moments where it felt like we wouldn't score any points at all.

"It was a rollercoaster of emotions, from the disappointment of Valtteri's scary accident to the thrill of Lewis' recovery drive. "To come away leading both Championships almost felt like a get out of jail free card, because our rivals didn't maximise the opportunity we gave them and it just proves what a challenging season we have ahead of us and how quickly things can turn around in Formula One." At Portimão last year, Mercedes was dominant with Lewis Hamilton taking pole before storming to the 92nd victory of his career to surpass Michael Schumacher's previous record as the most successful driver in the sport's history.

Looking ahead to the weekend, Wolff added: "It's an exciting, undulating track and produced some great racing in 2020.

"We also saw in qualifying and the opening laps that getting the tyres working properly is not easy.

"It's still quite a new circuit for everyone, which should make things interesting and mean we are learning all through the weekend. "We're expecting another close fight with Red Bull, and both McLaren and Ferrari could also be in the mix too. So, let's see how things play out in Portugal."

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