Mercedes has 'a good package' and everything to play for – Wolff

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says his team's performance in Saturday's sprint race shows that it has a fast car and a "good package" for Sunday's event.

Valtteri Bottas took a lights-to-flag win at Interlagos in yesterday's 24-lap sprint, overhauling Red Bull's Max Verstappen at the start and never looking back.

But the highlight of the afternoon was undeniably Lewis Hamilton's remarkable charge from dead last – due to his exclusion from Friday's qualifying – to fifth at the chequered flag, a mesmerizing performance that bodes well for the Briton's race on Sunday which he will start P10 following a five-place grid penalty linked to an engine change.

• Read also: Wolff still in 'disbelief' over Hamilton qualifying exclusion

"After the 60 minutes of racing, with Valtteri out there disappearing in the front, like he did in Turkey, and Lewis coming back, is the feeling that I enjoy the most at the moment," said Wolff.

"Now we know that it can swing from one day to the other. But Saturday reminded me why I love this sport. Everything is possible.

"I think we have a good package. We have a car that is fast and everything to play for."

Beyond the sheer results on Saturday, Wolff was especially reassured by how they had been achieved. The prospects for race day are therefore "encouraging" although very different conditions regarding track temperatures, fuel loads and tyres will apply.

"I believe we have a good car here," he reiterated. "We've seen over 24 laps, [we] definitely didn't suffer with the tyres.

"[In the race] that is a different game again, because it's going to be much hotter than it was [on Saturday].

"But at least it's encouraging to see that we can overtake. The wings were checked again, they were OK.

"[Hamilton's] not starting from 20th, but he's starting from 10th, and Valtteri is right up there on pole and is certainly going to race for the victory.

"So at least it's more encouraging than it looked [before the sprint race]."

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