Toto Wolff calls for patience at Mercedes: “Illusory to get closer to Red Bull in the short term”

The weekends (and the seasons) follow one another and are similar at Mercedes. As in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, Mercedes failed to unlock performance or properly tune its W15 for qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix. A Lewis Hamilton eliminated in Q2 and only one car in Q3, that of George Russell, qualified 7th and far from the Ferrari et Red Bull.

A frustrating but also worrying start to the season for the Silver Arrows who, far from the fine words of the first winter tests, already seem short of solutions to fight at the forefront. According to Toto wolff, the German team is still in a phase of understanding the car, and judge “illusory” to see Mercedes compete with Red Bull in the upcoming Grands Prix.

“We have a car that is demanding. You can enter and exit the [performance] window in a very short time, underlines the main director of the Mercedes team from Reuters. It's all the interaction between aerodynamics, mechanics and tires: it's never a single factor. But we will keep our heads down and keep working. I think it's unrealistic to get closer to Red Bull in the short term, but I still have to believe that this car has more to offer. »

Hamilton admits his helplessness against Russell

More to offer is what Lewis Hamilton hopes for who, on his long journey with Mercedes for three seasons, does not understand the differences in performance and behavior of the W15 in Melbourne with a wheel fit " on the razor wire " according to the British. “I felt very good during Free Practice 3, he told Sky Sports, trying to explain his day. It's strange because we were with the others and we didn't really understand why. But then in qualifying the inconsistency of the car really bothered me. (…) When the wind picks up, the car becomes much more unstable. »

Visibly disappointed in the mixed zone, Lewis Hamilton struggled to find the reasons for his repeated poor performances, suffering from the comparison with a George Russell who was more comfortable aboard the Mercedes. “ I don't know if I'm handling this situation well. I'm less consistent than George, he does a better job with our car, he outperformed me three times in a row in qualifying, recognizes seven-time British world champion. He seems to adapt [to the car] a lot better than me. I'm just trying to keep my head above water and keep thinking that it could be a lot worse. »

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