‘THE SUM DOES NOT ADD UP SOMEWHERE FOR US’ – TOTO WOLFF’S BLUNT MERCEDES W15 ASSESSMENT

Three years into F1’s ground-effect aerodynamic era, Toto Wolff admits there is something Mercedes “don’t quite understand” which has led to what he billed as a “long dip in form”.

Although Mercedes overhauled their F1 car between last season and this year, initially scrapping their zero-pod concept before going on to make huge changes during the off-season, the results are not coming.

Toto Wolff laments: There’s something we don’t quite understand

Yet to finish on the podium in a Grand Prix, there was a glimmer of hope during Saturday’s Sprint at the Chinese Grand Prix where Lewis Hamilton claimed second place having led the early laps.

However, even in his joy over his podium result, he admitted: “Had I started further back I would have struggled to progress.”

He, though, was hopeful for the Grand Prix as he had “found out a lot about the car through this short stint for the race so I’m excited.”

That excitement was short-lived as an experimental set-up meant he was eliminated from qualifying in Q1 and lined up 18th on the Chinese GP grid.

Although he rebounded to score points in ninth place, with his team-mate George Russell also making progress from eighth on the grid to sixth at the flag, it was by no means the weekend Mercedes had wished for.

“I am not satisfied at all,” Wolff told ServusTV. “The only highlight may have been second place in the Sprint, but the speed is just not there.

“We can try to justify it again and say that there were still bright spots, but we simply have to take a step.

“We will bring some new things to Miami, but now we are behind the Ferraris and behind Lando Norris. That is simply not good enough.”

He added: “It is not easy when you experience such a long dip in form, because this is already the third year for us.

“Our analysis show that all the ingredients are present that you normally need to perform, yet the sum does not add up somewhere for us. There’s something we don’t quite understand.”

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Toto Wolff ‘missing’ Niki Lauda

Mercedes’ ongoing troubles recently saw former F1 driver Christian Danner say he believes Wolff is missing his former sparring partner, who passed away in 2019.

Danner, speaking to Formel1.de, said: “He [Wolff] has his team, with which he somehow has to cope. He has a team of technicians, an engineering team, and an aero team he has to rely on. But the car is not made by the team boss.

“Christian Horner can manage what he likes, and the car goes. And with Toto, that’s the problem at the moment. And his drivers say that too. What he misses very much, I say it again and again, is certainly Niki Lauda.”

Wolff admits losing Lauda, especially as his friend and sparring partner, has had an impact.

“I especially miss Niki as a friend,” he said. “That is the most important and greatest loss. He was also a travelling companion and an amazing sparring partner.

“That was absolutely extremely important. This has also played a role in recent years, since 2019, when he was no longer there.

“He hasn’t even been there since the summer of 2018. I would like him to be there again, but especially as a friend and fighter by my side.”

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2024-04-22T09:05:14Z dg43tfdfdgfd