On the back of statistically one of the worst starts to an F1 season by Mercedes, Toto Wolff has argued that the team haven’t really slipped back in terms of performance from last year. Rather, the strides made by the likes of McLaren and Ferrari in 2024 just make the Silver Arrows’ performances poor.
Motorsport.com quoted the 52-year-old as explaining, “Now those teams [McLaren and Ferrari] have picked up their performance levels. This is a relative game and suddenly, what was good enough for third last year is now [only] good enough for sixth. That’s why it is tough.”
Wolff compared the W15’s performance to last year’s challenger to explain how the team could have easily been podium contenders in 2024 as well. He highlighted McLaren’s early season woes in 2023 and Ferrari’s mistakes, stating that with a similar level of performance, the team were getting podiums this time last year.
However, in 2024, McLaren and Ferrari have upped their game. Ferrari have seemingly eliminated their tire degradation woes, and the MCL38 has taken McLaren closer to Red Bull in terms of pace. In all of this, Mercedes have trundled down to only be good enough for P7 or below in the pecking order.
Despite this, Wolff has admitted that the W15 is not an easy car to drive – much like its predecessors. That being said, the Brackley team are now looking at everything they can do to unlock more potential from their package as the season progresses.
Toto Wolff admits that Lewis Hamilton is not the only one unhappy with Mercedes’ 2024 car
In the past, Lewis Hamilton had been very vocal about how the “ground-effect” Mercedes cars were undrivable. However, as admitted by Wolff himself, now, even George Russell has started expressing his dissatisfaction with how the car’s development and handling on track.
Revealing the #63 driver’s comments after the 2024 Chinese GP qualifying, Wolff said, “The car is as difficult as it has been in the past, tricky for the drivers. George [Russell], when we discussed it [on Saturday], said it was the trickiest qualifying car he has had so far.”
In wet weather conditions, the W15 seemingly found some magic within itself. During the Sprint Shootout, Lewis Hamilton put in a stellar lap to find himself on the front row of the grid. He then converted that into the Silver Arrows’ first podium of 2024 during the Sprint Race afterward.
But one good result, in incomparable circumstances, has not swayed Wolff’s mood. The Austrian still remains adamant that he is not happy with how the team has been performing or how their package has been faring in 2024 so far.
