Toto Wolff, head of the Mercedes Formula One team, has a mixed bag of emotions regarding their 2024 F1 car. While Wolff is hopeful about the improvements, Lewis Hamilton sees things differently.
Toto Wolff has recently expressed his frustration as well as cautious optimism about their future car, the W15. Despite some disappointing results recently, Wolff believes the team has finally established a solid architectural foundation capable of closing the gap on Red Bull.
Lewis Hamilton, however, isn’t as convinced. During the Imola race, the British driver described the team as being ‘in no man’s land.’ Despite Mercedes introducing upgrades to address their car’s performance inconsistencies, particularly its balance in high and low-speed corners, results remained lackluster.
At the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, both Hamilton and his teammate George Russell finished sixth and seventh respectively, 35 seconds behind race winner Max Verstappen of Red Bull. These upgrades were showcased at Miami and Imola, yet they failed to yield the desired results.
Wolff admitted his frustration, stating, ‘I don’t think we’ve ever had such clear indications as in the last few races, where the car was either really fast at high speed or really fast at low speed, but never both at the same time.’ He insisted, however, that the team is beginning to address these issues.
Wolff acknowledged that Mercedes’ performance over the past two seasons has been inconsistent, dubbing it a period of ‘zig-zagging.’ This instability has led to what he calls ‘false dawns.’ Yet, he now feels a renewed sense of confidence in their direction.
The Mercedes head believes the W15 now has the right aerodynamic architecture to challenge Red Bull. He assured everyone that the car’s aerodynamic foundation is more conventional and the team knows where they’re heading, which is a significant advancement over the last two years.
Despite Wolff’s optimism, Hamilton is less enthusiastic. After finishing sixth in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, he claimed Mercedes is still in ‘no man’s land.’ Although technical improvements were introduced, the progress made by other teams such as Ferrari and McLaren overshadowed their efforts.
As Mercedes looks to the rest of the 2024 season, the team is focused on refining the W15 and striving to close the gap with Red Bull. However, while Wolff remains hopeful, Hamilton’s outlook is noticeably cautious.
