Toto Wolff has described the atmosphere at a dinner attended by all 20 F1 team principals at Imola.

The Emilia-Roꦯmagna Grand Prix weekend featured the bosses of each team sitting down together, with F1 CEO Ste🌺fano Domenicali.

The inevitably tense relationships that exist at the table swiftly (and temporarily) va⛄nished🧸, Wolff confirmed.

“It was surᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚprisingly fun,” the Mercedes boss told Sky Sportꦅs.

“A bit tense at the beginning…”

Wolff’s ol💖d nemesis Christian Horner of Red Bull ꧒was three seats away.

Ferrari’s Fred Vasseur - a close friend oಌf Wolff’s - was also nearby, at a time when the Italian team andꦅ Mercedes are seeing multiple high-profile employees traded between them.

🐬“I💦 wasn’t planning to talk to everyone,” Wolff said.

“But, at the end, we were talking to each other.

“And the knives were back in the pockets.

“Stefanoꦫ said a good thing: ‘How lucky are we to play this sport, and to be inv♋olved?’

“We had a good time. It was really nice to see.”

'We are creeping forwards'

Mercedes’ George Russell ๊qualified in sixt𝓀h for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, with Lewis Hamilton eighth.

“When you look ꦡat the gap to the front﷽, it is progress,” Wolff said.

“We’ve 🍎been saying this for a wh🐓ile but it’s the harsh truth - four tenths off, we need to do better.”

Wolf🥂f said about Hamilton on Saturday: “He has not been happy with th💜e car. He’s not feeling the grip.”

Mercedes brought upgrades to Imola, but Ferrari, Red Buꦛll and Aston Martin also brought notable new parts for the beginning of the European leg of the season.

“The updates that we have are🅷 updates that are going in a balanced direction,” Wo♛lff said.

“Not in massive points, in downforce.

“It’s something we knew we were going to have.

“It’s all po🌟inti𓂃ng in the right direction even though sixth is not good enough, four tenths off is not good enough.

“We are creeping forwards.”