Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving for Mercedes AMG in the F1 W15 car. Date: March 23, 2024. This was during the Formula 1 World Championship, Round 3, Australian Grand Prix held at Albert Park in Melbourne, Australia on Qualifying Day.
The boss of the Mercedes Formula 1 team, Toto Wolff, has acknowledged that their recent setback in Australia has made it impossible for them to catch up to Red Bull in the near future.
After encountering difficulties in the first two practice sessions, the German team was hopeful that the changes they made overnight would yield positive results in the third practice session (FP3).
Lewis Hamilton finished fourth on the timesheets, trailing the fastest time by 0.092 seconds, while George Russell secured fifth place.
However, Hamilton struggled with the handling of his car and was eliminated in the Q2 session, while Russell qualified in seventh place, eight-tenths of a second behind Max Verstappen’s pole time.
Wolff criticized Mercedes’ current situation, stating that it is not up to their standards. The team is struggling to comprehend the inconsistent performance of their updated package.
“It’s particularly disappointing because we were within a tenth in FP3,” Wolff expressed to Sky F1. “The conditions were slightly different, but that’s not an excuse.”
“I believe our car is challenging to handle, and it’s easy to be on the edge of its performance window. Despite my frustration, I’ve been saying this for a while, we need to keep working on it and strive for improvement. It’s not that we haven’t been trying, but it’s simply not good enough.”
Both Hamilton and Russell have denied that the 2024 Mercedes car is a replica of its flawed predecessor. They argue that it is now a more manageable and drivable machine.
Wolff rejected the notion that adjusting the car’s balance alone would solve their problems. He emphasized that the issue is more complex, involving the interaction of aerodynamics, mechanics, and tires.
“It’s never just one factor. It’s the combination of various elements. We need to stay focused and push through this challenging period,” he explained.
Wolff acknowledged that it would be unrealistic to expect Mercedes to challenge Red Bull’s RB20 in the upcoming races. Red Bull has remained undefeated so far.
“I believe it’s an unrealistic goal to close the gap to Red Bull in the short term,” Wolff admitted. “However, I still believe that there is more potential in our car. We have witnessed performances like this morning, which prove that our car is capable of achieving great things.”
“But it’s a delicate balance. We need to find consistency in our performance and continue our efforts to improve,” he concluded.