Mercedes’ difficulties continue, and this was confirmed by the results of the team’s drivers in today’s qualifying: George Russell set the 7th fastest time and Lewis Hamilton could not even qualify for the second session and remained outside the top ten. Team leader Toto Wolff explains this for all kinds of reasons.
Q: The results are not impressive. What difficulties hindered your racers?
Toto Wolff: Yes, they are not impressive at all, especially when you consider that Lewis was only a few tenths short of reaching the final. Today the weather conditions have changed slightly, although it is clear that this cannot be an excuse. But our machine is difficult to work with, and only minimal exposure to external factors is enough, and it is already outside the optimal range.
I have to repeat myself because I’ve been saying this for a long time, but we just have to keep working. I just want to emphasize that such results are not at all the result of us not trying hard enough. But now we are clearly not reaching the required level, this is a fact.
Question: But what are the problems with the car? Are they still related to the erratic behavior of her backside?
Toto Wolff: No, I think the reason is more complex, and here we need to talk about the insufficiently efficient aerodynamics of the chassis as a whole, and about the operation of the chassis, and about the tires. It is hardly worth highlighting a separate factor. We just have to hang in there and keep working to get through this.
Q: Have you already doubted whether the team can solve such a problem with this machine? And that you probably won’t be able to overtake Red Bull until the technical regulations are changed?
Toto Wolff: If anyone believes that we can overtake Red Bull in the near future, that is an illusion. However, I believe we can still add that the potential of our machine has not yet been fully realized. We saw confirmation during the morning training. That’s not to say it’s a bad car, but like I said, it lacks stability and can easily be pushed beyond its optimal operating range.
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
