Motorsport
Formula 1 crisis at Mercedes: Wolff in the “hamster wheel”
Team boss Toto Wolff is not making any progress with his Mercedes team. photo
© Asanka Brendon Ratnayake/AP
Mercedes is at a low point. In the new Formula 1 year, the former industry leader is only lagging behind. In Australia both cars even break down. Is the turnaround realistic for Lewis Hamilton & Co.?
Frustrated by the Formula 1 disaster in Australia Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff prefers to wash things off himself. Even in the third year after the aerodynamics revolution, the former industry leader seems to be stuck in a dead end in the hunt for the top. The first double failure since Austria in 2018 was a low point. “It’s a very, very hard time at the moment,” admitted Wolff.
Mercedes simply cannot get its unstable rear under control, which costs time in the fast corners. Drivers also complain about so-called bouncing, which is an aerodynamic phenomenon where the car essentially jumps over the asphalt. At times the Mercedes with the registration W15 even shows its speed potential, then it just blows away. Why is that? Wolff would like to know that.
The new Mercedes is also moody
“We don’t understand some of the car’s behavior that we would have always understood in the past,” said the Austrian, who also holds 33.3 percent of the shares in the racing team, about the moody Mercedes. The confidence after the winter tests has long since disappeared. “I would be the first to say: If someone has a better idea, they should tell me,” said Wolff. “I’m interested in getting this team back on track as quickly as possible.”
Melbourne was a big blow for Mercedes. Record world champion Lewis Hamilton retired early in the third race of the season after an engine failure, while teammate George Russell was unable to finish the Grand Prix due to an accident shortly before the end.
For Wolff it feels “very brutal”.
“I would be lying if I said that I always assess the situation positively and optimistically. But you just have to overcome the negative thoughts and tell yourself that we will turn things around,” said Wolff after the frustrating weekend. However, it feels “very brutal”.
The direct comparison with the competition also plays a part in this. Last year, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz had huge problems in Australia. This time they came second and first for Ferrari in Melbourne.
Hamilton doesn’t think much of the “bad sister”
“On the one hand, I want to punch myself in the nose. But on the other hand, it’s also proof that if you do things right, you can turn things around quickly,” said Wolff. “You just have to keep believing.” Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren are currently ahead of the Silver Arrows in the constructors’ championship.
Does Hamilton still have faith in his last year with Mercedes? The Englishman, who will drive for Ferrari from 2025, had defended the new car before his retirement. The W15 is “definitely not the bad sister” of its predecessor. “We have a great car that has a lot of potential. We just haven’t maximized it through the setup at the moment.”
Wolff is not thinking about retreating
After the debacle at the Albert Park Circuit, Hamilton had to admit: “This is the worst start to the season I have ever experienced.” Hamilton started the new year with just eight points. “Of course I would like to fight for wins and actually finish races. That’s never a great feeling when you come here and don’t even see half of the race,” he said. “But we will recover.”
The pressure is increasing at Mercedes. And Wolff sees himself as having a duty first and foremost. “I look in the mirror every day and question what I’m doing,” said Wolff, who signed a new contract until the end of 2026 at the beginning of the year and publicly has no thoughts of withdrawing. “I’m not a contractor or employee who says, ‘I’ve had enough of this. My hamster wheel keeps spinning and I can’t get off.’