Lewis Hamilton, British driver who races for Mercedes AMG in the F1 W15 car. Date: March 23, 2024. This happened during the Formula 1 World Championship, Round 3, Australian Grand Prix held at Albert Park in Melbourne, Australia, on Qualifying Day.
The head of the Mercedes Formula 1 team, Toto Wolff, acknowledged that the recent setback in Australia made it impossible for them to catch up with Red Bull in the near future.
After facing difficulties in the first two practice sessions, the German team was hopeful that the changes made overnight would result in positive results in the third practice session (FP3).
Lewis Hamilton finished fourth on the time sheets, trailing the fastest time by 0.092 seconds, while George Russell came in fifth.
However, Hamilton struggled with the handling of his car and was eliminated in Q2, while Russell qualified in seventh place, eight tenths of a second behind Max Verstappen’s pole position time.
Wolff criticized the current situation of Mercedes, stating that it is not up to their standards. The team is struggling to understand the inconsistent performance of their updated package.
“It’s particularly disappointing because we were a tenth off in FP3,” Wolff told Sky F1. “Conditions were a bit different, but that’s not an excuse.”
“I believe our car is challenging to drive and it’s easy to be on the limit of its performance. Despite my frustration, I’ve been saying this for a while, we need to keep working on it and seek improvements. It’s not that we haven’t tried, but it’s simply not good enough.”
Both Hamilton and Russell denied that the 2024 Mercedes car is a replica of its predecessor with flaws. They argue that it is now a more manageable and drivable machine.
Wolff rejected the idea that adjusting the balance of the car would solve its problems. He emphasized that the issue is more complex, involving the interaction of aerodynamics, mechanics, and tires.
“It is never just one factor. It is the combination of several elements. We need to stay focused and overcome 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 is an unrealistic goal to close the gap to Red Bull in the short term,” Wolff admitted. “However, I still believe 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 is a delicate balance. We need to find consistency in our performance and continue our efforts to improve,” he concluded.
