Toto Wolff has consistently expressed his frustrations over Mercedes’ decline in the ground-effect era of Formula 1.
Mercedes’ struggles in this era have been evident since the start of the 2022 season. The team failed to secure a victory in the 2023 season, and it seems that the victory drought may continue into this season. Therefore, in light of this, a F1 Presenter found the situation disappointing for the Team Principal.
The presenter stated that Wolff openly displayed his discontent with the team and did not shy away from acknowledging Mercedes’ recent shortcomings. The 64-year-old principal expressed his thoughts on both his own team and their rival teams without hesitation.
Furthermore, it was mentioned that Wolff was frustrated with Mercedes’ overall performance in the first four races. It was noted that Wolff had experienced a period of great success during Mercedes’ domination era, and the current standards were not what he was accustomed to seeing from his team.
The development of the W15 was believed to have followed a more traditional approach after unsuccessful attempts in previous seasons. However, the Mercedes challenger still faced stability issues, particularly at high speeds. As a result, the team’s performance was described as mediocre at best. They lost time during the initial stint and only slightly improved in the following stints.
In addition, it was revealed that the W15 was far behind in terms of matching Red Bull’s pace. In Suzuka, the car was 45 seconds behind Max Verstappen’s leading RB20. Even when comparing to other competitors, the W15 was still 25 seconds slower than the Ferraris. Therefore, it is crucial for the Brackley team to address these issues promptly in order to achieve better results throughout the season.
Mercedes is in desperate need of rediscovering their form and addressing these issues immediately. If things continue as they are, McLaren may even surpass them in the upcoming races. The Silver Arrows may have to conclude their long journey with their driver heading to Ferrari with another disappointing campaign. However, only time will tell how Toto Wolff’s team will fare in the races to come.