Toto Wolff is “not satisfied at all” after the Chinese Grand Prix
After the Chinese Grand Prix, the Mercedes boss declared that it was clear that the W15's level of performance was not good enough.
Mercedes’ weekend had started well with the surprising performance during the sprint qualifying, by Lewis Hamilton, who had secured second place, narrowly missing out on pole position.
The German team still had a difficult Grand Prix by finishing behind McLaren and Ferrari once again. Despite the efforts made to better understand the W15, there was no significant improvement in its performance, and Mercedes boss Toto Wolff believes that the team must raise its game level rather than clinging to glimmers of hope during the weekends.
Wolff declared to ServusTV that he was: « Not satisfied at all. Perhaps an important moment with second place in the sprint race, but the performance is not there.
We can say that there were some positive moments during the weekend, but we need to take a step forward. We will bring something more to Miami, where we hope we can expect something. But today, you are just behind the Ferraris and behind [Lando] Norris. It’s simply not good enough.
Mercedes had started the year with optimism regarding the progress made with its W15, but quickly realized some weaknesses in fast corners. As time went by, the team discovered more complications with the car, making it difficult to find the right compromise with the setup of the car.
Toto Wolff does not lose hope
For Wolff, the progress made in high-speed corners has been proven in Japan, but these advancements have come at the expense of its pace in other corners. « I think we managed that, in high speed we were super competitive, at Suzuka too, it was day and night compared to what we had before. »
Translate: « The drivers talked about it as the best car they had in the last two years. But we really didn’t perform well at low speeds. So you gain half a second at high speeds, but you lose half a second at low speeds. The equation returns to zero, so it’s something we need to improve. »
We have moved beyond the stage of understanding and now we just have to improve. This is what we need to focus on, and we have all the necessary tools.
Although Mercedes has not yet managed to get on the podium in a Grand Prix this season, Wolff does not think that this year’s car is worse than those of previous years. Instead, he believes that his team might be advantaged when their rivals like McLaren and Ferrari face their own competitive difficulties.
« Now, these teams have improved their performance. It’s a relative game and suddenly, what was enough for third place last year is now only enough for sixth place. That’s why it’s difficult.
