Wolff felt dismay, disgust, and despair as he witnessed his underperforming cars struggle to keep up with the customer team McLaren, let alone the leading Red Bull of Max Verstappen. Verstappen claimed pole position for today’s Sprint Race despite referring to his own lap as “terrible,” highlighting the lackluster performance of Mercedes.
Mercedes can no longer rely on excuses. It has become a familiar sight to see the once dominant team struggling in the midfield with their third package, unable to improve the car’s performance between sessions. This was evident once again in Miami.
Andrew Shovlin, the trackside boss of Mercedes, acknowledged another disappointing day, stating: “Unfortunately, as we have seen on numerous occasions this year, we were unable to match the progress made by others when it mattered most.”
He continued, “While the field was closely competitive, we will not make excuses for both our cars being eliminated in SQ2. We need to do a better job of maintaining the car’s optimal performance and realizing its full potential, which we demonstrate in earlier sessions.”
Naturally, we are disappointed with today’s outcome. The team completed a full program in FP1, and both drivers were satisfied with the car’s balance. We made minor adjustments before Sprint Qualifying, intending to preserve the car’s positive characteristics for the afternoon session.
“Our goal in the Sprint Race is to secure points for both cars. We are aware that it will be challenging starting from P11 and P12, but we will be fully committed to achieving this. Additionally, we aim to gain further insights into the car’s behavior during the Sprint Race, allowing us to improve its performance for Qualifying and the Grand Prix later in the weekend,” Shovlin added.
For Saturday’s race, Mercedes will occupy the sixth row on the starting grid, with Russell and Hamilton in P11 and P12 respectively. George was half a second behind the top time in Q2, while Lewis lacked a couple more tenths.
Mercedes once again introduced modifications to their car for the race in Miami, but unfortunately, these upgrades did not yield positive results. Despite Toto Wolff’s optimistic expectations, the changes did not have the desired effect during Sprint Qualifying (SQ), disappointing the drivers.
Lewis Hamilton expressed his initial satisfaction with the car’s performance during the first practice session (FP1), praising the balance. However, the situation took a turn for the worse during Sprint Qualifying, as the car’s balance deteriorated. Although they were close to advancing to SQ3, they fell short of being at the front of the pack.
Starting from 12th position, Hamilton acknowledged the challenges they will face during the Sprint race. He acknowledged the difficulty of following and overtaking on this circuit, therefore not expecting significant progress. Nevertheless, the team will strive to score points.
Teammate George Russell echoed Hamilton’s sentiments, emphasizing the positive experience with the soft tire in FP1. However, they struggled to find the optimal performance with the medium tire, putting them at a disadvantage.
Russell acknowledged that they shouldn’t have been in such a precarious position close to the cut-off point. They will work overnight to make improvements for the main Qualifying session, aiming to overcome their struggles in this aspect. Starting from a disadvantaged position makes it challenging to compete with the cars ahead.
Russell also noted that other teams, such as McLaren and Aston Martin, have introduced significant upgrades for this race. Mercedes, on the other hand, faced similar challenges as their competitors, with the updates not delivering the desired outcome.
In summary, it’s the same recurring issue for Mercedes. Despite Toto Wolff’s optimistic statement about the upcoming improvements, these modifications did not yield positive results in Miami.