Toto Wolff impressed with ‘McLaren competing on equal terms with Red Bull’ amidst Mercedes’ HORRENDOUS start to 2024

McLaren has already amassed a Grand Prix win during the ongoing 2024 F1 season.

Toto Wolff impressed with ‘McLaren competing on equal terms with Red Bull’ amidst Mercedes’ HORRENDOUS start to 2024

Max Verstappen, Oscar Piasri and Toto Wolff (Via: Imago)

Mercedes Team Principal, Toto Wolff praised McLaren following their performance at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, where they finished P2 and P4. He also shared his concerns about the poor performance of his team, who have failed to stand on the podium this season.

McLaren has shown tremendous will and promise this year as the outfit has performed on par with the likes of Red Bull and Ferrari. On the other hand, Mercedes, under the leadership of Toto Wolff, has struggled to find their form and was almost six-tenths slower than the woking-based team in qualifying in Imola.

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McLaren shows us that the engine is there and that it can also be kind to the tires in terms of delivery and then that of McLaren it's a fantastic recovery story because in less than 12 months it went from being eliminated in Q1 to competing on equal terms with Red Bull.
Toto Wolff spoke during his post race interview

McLaren has put on some extremely fruitful updates since the start of testing this year, which has worked in their favor. Contrary to them, Mercedes has not quite hit the ground running and has had lackluster outcomes with their W15 upgrades and strategies this season.

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Mercedes ‘small step forward’ not reflected in Imola result, says Toto Wolff

Mercedes brought some upgrades to the W15 at Imola but those failed to improve their position in the race as Lewis Hamilton and George Russell finished P6 and P7. The German-based racing team finished 35 seconds off of the race winner, Max Verstappen at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Toto Wolff
Toto Wolff (Via: IMAGO)
It’s not possible to see it in terms of the result, but we have taken a small step forward this weekend. Our closest competitors have also done so recently, but we have closed the gap to the front a little.
Toto Wolff summarized post race

Mercedes had done some aerodynamic upgrades at the rear of its car plus its floor and brake ducts coming into the Imola GP. On the back of these, they were hopeful of an improvement in the straight-line speed and the downforce of the W15. However, the upgrades improved the performance of the car by a very small margin compared to what they expected.

Mercedes now looks to further test and understand the hindrances of the W15 ahead of Monaco. The event is just around the corner and the competition amongst the various teams will take an ever more challenging turn.

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