Mercedes F1 seeing ‘promising’ signs in the factory but “won’t get carried away”
Toto Wolff has shed light on what has been going on at Mercedes since the second round of the 2023 F1 season.
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Mercedes (Credits: Autosport)
Toto Wolff, the Mercedes Team Principal, has admitted that his team is not getting carried away after noticing promising signs at its factory. Mercedes F1 has started the 2023 campaign on the back foot and is working around the clock to find solutions for its W14. The drivers haven’t been pleased with how the car has performed in the first two races.
The Brackley-based Mercedes team has lacked pace compared to Aston Martin and Red Bull. Still, despite the timid start, Toto Wolff ardently believes that his team can take confidence from finishing ahead of the Maranello-based Ferrari F1 team at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. While stressing on it, Wolff added, “The progress we saw in Saudi Arabia was encouraging.”
“We maximized the package we had and scored some solid points. More importantly, we continued to learn and understand more about the W14 and our development direction, everyone back at the base has been hard at work to turn these learnings into performance.” Looking at the Austrian’s comments, it is pretty clear that he and the team are happy with their Jeddah exploits.
Moreover, the work in the background has also started to show positive results for the team, and Wolff, while further stressing, said, “The signs we are seeing back at the factory are promising, we have got to take it step by step, though, and won’t get carried away until we see performance translated into lap time on track. The competitive order behind Red Bull is tight, with small margins having a big effect on points scored. There remains a significant gap to the front and that is ultimately what we are interested in closing.“
Toto Wolff’s take on Mercedes’ chances at the Australian GP
After Jeddah, it seems that the morale in the Mercedes camp is quite high, and they are really looking forward to the third round of the 2023 F1 season. While the mood in the camp is good, Toto Wolff has admitted that his team cannot afford to slack off in any way if they want a strong outing at Albert Park. Mercedes is currently joint second in the Constructors Championship alongside Aston Martin.
While shedding light on what’s coming up, Wolff added, “We are looking forward to Australia, it’s a country serious about its motorsport with a great racing tradition, and the fans are super passionate. Albert Park is a circuit with unique characteristics, which we will have to work hard to adapt to with the W14. As always, we will look to maximize the car we have, and score as many points as our potential currently allows. We are not where we want to be – but that won’t stop us from racing hard and giving it everything we’ve got.”
Toto Wolff has revealed that his team is up for the Australian Grand Prix and is trying its best to adapt the W14 as much as possible to the demands of the Albert Park F1 circuit. Moreover, considering the state of the Constructors Championship at the moment, the upcoming event could prove to be a great opportunity for Lewis Hamilton and George Russell to move ahead of Aston Martin in the Championship. However, it would be a tough ask considering the raw pace of the AMR23.
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Rishabh Negi
(3244 Articles Published)