Toto Wolff has described the Mexican Grand Prix as "bittersweet" for Mercedes after they struggled with performance, although it was enough for Lewis Hamilton to clinch a fifth Drivers' Championship.
The Briton needed to finish seventh or higher to guarantee him the title, and although Hamilton got a great start to slot into second place, he struggled with his tyres and dropped down the order during the race to eventually finish fourth – elevated a position after Daniel Ricciardo retired late in the race.
Valtteri Bottas also struggled and finished a lap down on race winner Max Verstappen in one of Mercedes' worst races of the season.
Mexican Grand Prix: Race Report | Championship Standings | Hamilton Feature
Wolff admitted he didn't speak to Hamilton over team radio when he crossed the finish line because he was "too upset" with their performance.
"I didn’t say anything to him [over team radio] because I was too upset over our race performance that I needed to get myself together again," he told Sky.
"It's a fantastic title and I’m so happy for Lewis and the team. A bit bittersweet. We had a very bad race and we truly need to understand it, but we should be happy about the championship."
When asked why Mercedes have always struggled with title deciders, Wolff replied: "I don’t know. We’ve seen it with other teams too. It’s about finishing in a certain position and you can see everyone seems to struggle.
"We had the same situation in DTM. When you look at Formula 1 and past championships, it’s always like this."
Wolff is keen to turn things around at the next race in Brazil where Mercedes will hope to secure the Constructors' title a race early.
"The Drivers’ is the one that’s really important for the visibility, but the Constructors’ is still out there and we need to perform well in Brazil."
