Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff has shared some promising developments from the team’s factory as they work hard to revise the direction of their W14 car’s development. Wolff has admitted that the team went down a “dead-end street” in terms of their development direction and that they are now working “flat-out” to get back on track. Mercedes has been fourth-best in qualifying trim in the first two races of the season in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
Following George Russell and Lewis Hamilton’s out-racing of the Ferraris to P4 and P5 at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, Wolff gave some fresh thoughts on the progress made by Mercedes and what’s next for the team. He said that the signs they are seeing back at the factory are promising and that everyone is working hard to turn these learnings into performance. However, Wolff also stressed that they won’t get carried away until they see performance translated into lap time on track.
Wolff pointed out that the competitive order behind Red Bull is tight, with small margins having a big effect on points scored. There is still a significant gap to the front, and that is ultimately what they are interested in closing. As for the upcoming Australian Grand Prix at the technical Albert Park Circuit, Wolff set his sights on another solid points haul to keep their constructors’ tally moving in the right direction. He mentioned that the team will have to work hard to adapt to the unique characteristics of the circuit with the W14. Aston Martin and Mercedes are currently holding 38 points each, 49 points behind leaders Red Bull.
Wolff concluded by saying that Mercedes is not where they want to be, but that they won’t stop racing hard and giving it everything they’ve got.
