Lewis Hamilton, a British driver who races for Mercedes AMG in the F1 W15 car. Date: March 23, 2024. This happened during the Formula 1 World Championship, Round 3, Australian Grand Prix held at Albert Park in Melbourne, Australia, on Qualifying Day.
The head of the Mercedes Formula 1 team, Toto Wolff, acknowledged that the recent setback in Australia made it impossible for them to catch up with Red Bull in the near future.
After facing difficulties in the first two practice sessions, the German team was hopeful that the changes made overnight would result in positive results in the third practice session (FP3).
Lewis Hamilton finished fourth on the time sheets, trailing the fastest time by 0.092 seconds, while George Russell finished fifth.
However, Hamilton struggled with the handling of his car and was eliminated in Q2, while Russell qualified in seventh place, eight tenths of a second behind Max Verstappen’s pole position time.
Wolff criticized the current situation of Mercedes, stating that it does not meet their standards. The team is struggling to understand the inconsistent performance of their updated package.
« It’s particularly disappointing because we were a tenth off in FP3, » Wolff told Sky F1. « The conditions were a bit different, but that’s not an excuse. »
« I believe our car is challenging to drive and it’s easy to be on the limit of its performance. Despite my frustration, I’ve been saying this for a while, we need to keep working on it and seek improvements. It’s not that we haven’t tried, but it’s simply not good enough. »
Tanto Hamilton quanto Russell negaram que o carro da Mercedes de 2024 seja uma réplica de seu predecessor com falhas. Eles argumentam que agora é uma máquina mais gerenciável e dirigível.
Wolff rejeitou a ideia de que ajustar o equilíbrio do carro resolveria seus problemas. Ele enfatizou que a questão é mais complexa, envolvendo a interação de aerodinâmica, mecânica e pneus.
« Nunca é apenas um fator. É a combinação de vários elementos. Precisamos manter o foco e superar este período desafiador », explicou.
Wolff reconheceu que seria irrealista esperar que a Mercedes desafiasse o RB20 da Red Bull nas próximas corridas. A Red Bull tem se mantido invicta até agora.
« Acredito que seja um objetivo irrealista reduzir a diferença para a Red Bull a curto prazo », admitiu Wolff. « No entanto, ainda acredito que há mais potencial em nosso carro. Testemunhamos performances como esta manhã, que provam que nosso carro é capaz de conquistar grandes coisas. »
« Mas é um equilíbrio delicado. Precisamos encontrar consistência em nosso desempenho e continuar nossos esforços para melhorar », concluiu.
