Toto Wolff, the head of the Mercedes team, is devastated by the disappointing performance of his team at the Australian Grand Prix. The race was a forgettable one for the Silver Arrows, as they struggled throughout the weekend at the high-speed track. Even the seven-time World Champion, Lewis Hamilton, was knocked out in Q2 and then retired at lap 15 due to a power unit failure.
To make matters worse, Hamilton’s teammate also had a major crash on the last lap while chasing a two-time World Champion. The crash was caused by the increased dirty air when Alonso started braking early in the corners. With both cars out of the race, Toto Wolff expressed his thoughts on Mercedes’ lack of performance and admitted that he wanted to punch himself in the nose due to the disappointing season they are going through.
Wolff also mentioned that based on simulations and testing, the team believed that the W15 car was an improvement compared to previous years. However, it seems that Mercedes has actually regressed with their car this year. Despite this setback, Wolff still believes that with hard work, they can turn around their shocking start to the season.
After the early retirement of a three-time World Champion, Ferrari and McLaren emerged as the main contenders for the win, with [driver names] securing a 1-2 finish. The McLarens of [driver names] followed closely behind.
With Mercedes nowhere in contention for the win, Toto Wolff acknowledged that his team has regressed compared to last year. He mentioned that their lap times are inconsistent and they have fallen behind in overall performance. Wolff expressed shock and uncertainty about the reasons behind this regression, as Mercedes had believed that the W15 was a promising car to build upon. It appears that the Silver Arrows are currently on the back foot in all aspects related to their car.