Toto Wolff admits "the pressure is on" Mercedes to ensure another car failure does not decide the 2016 drivers' title fight between Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton.
Rosberg leads Hamilton by 33 points with four races to go, a gap that was boosted by the latter suffering an engine blowup while leading the latter stages of the Malaysian Grand Prix. Even though Hamilton can win the next four races and still not claim the title, Mercedes boss Wolff is determined to see a straight fight in the final rounds.
"Our priority over the coming weeks is to give both our boys the best possible chance of winning the remaining four races," Wolff said. "The title is purely between them, which is fantastic news for the team as we can be happy whatever the final outcome. However, the pressure is on to ensure that their battle is decided man-to-man, and hopefully wheel-to-wheel, on the race track."
Mercedes wrapped up a third straight constructors' crown in Japan, continuing its incredible dominance of the V6 turbo era which started in 2014. Wolff insists the team cannot afford to dwell on its success with a big rule change on the horizon in 2017.
"We may already have celebrated our championship success as a team -- but we have a responsibility to the drivers and will not let anything distract us from the job at hand. Likewise, we have an entirely new challenge to prepare for in 2017.
"While we savour these moments, it's going to be a long, hard winter ahead. There is much work to be done in the coming weeks and months - but also plenty of excitement on the way I'm sure."