Formula 1 Saudi Arabian GP
Wolff: No finger-pointing over Mercedes F1 car or engine struggles
Mercedes Formula 1 chief Toto Wolff says there will be no finger-pointing at one single area of Mercedes’ car or engine amid its early struggles this season.
Luke Smith Christian Nimmervoll
Edited: Apr 1, 2022, 10:12 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
After winning the last eight F1 constructors’ championships, Mercedes has endured a difficult start to the new regulations in 2022, failing to fight for victory at either of the first two races.
Lewis Hamilton finished third in Bahrain after both Red Bull cars retired in the closing stages, but could only muster 10th in Saudi Arabia. The seven-time world champion recovered to score a point after he was eliminated in Q1 for the first time since 2017 on Saturday.
Teammate George Russell finished fifth behind the Ferrari and Red Bull cars in Saudi Arabia, leaving Mercedes F1 chief Wolff to say the current “painful” form was an “exercise in humility” for Mercedes after so much success.
Mercedes’ primary struggle has been the extreme porpoising its car experiences at high speed, which Russell said was responsible for “99%” of the team’s problems.
But the Mercedes-powered teams have also been struggling for straight-line speed at times compared to those running Ferrari and Red Bull-badged power units. In Bahrain, the three Mercedes customer teams filled out the bottom six positions from the classified finishers, while just one out of eight Mercedes-powered cars reached Q3 in Saudi Arabia.
Wolff felt it was important for Mercedes not to try and apportion blame to any single area of the car or engine, but to focus on how it could recover.
“I think it's important now not to just point the finger at individual areas of the car,” Wolff said when asked about Mercedes’ engine performance by Motorsport.com.
“We operate together as a team, and I think we have deficits overall that are bigger than an engine deficit.
“Now we just all have to grab each other by the scruff of the neck and, with all our strength, pull ourselves out of this mess." Toto Wolff
Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images
“Are we among the top teams in any of these areas? No, I don't think so. But you have to remember that this engine has helped us win eight championships in a row.
“Now we just all have to grab each other by the scruff of the neck and, with all our strength, pull ourselves out of this mess."
Read Also:
- Is Verstappen really racing Leclerc differently to Hamilton?
- Alonso: Alpine F1 pace better than early season results indicate
- Binotto: Leclerc driving like someone who can win F1 title
- Horner: F1 should look into DRS lines after Saudi cat and mouse game
Mercedes already sits 40 points adrift of Ferrari at the top of the constructors’ championship after the opening two races, while Hamilton is 29 points off early drivers’ standings leader Charles Leclerc.
Hamilton said after the race in Saudi Arabia that talk of the title felt “a long way off” and that Mercedes was “still far off the guys who are ahead, and we’ve got a lot of work to do.”
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Binotto: Leclerc driving like someone who can win F1 title
Next article Bottas: Strong Alfa Romeo F1 form is “best case scenario”
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Luke Smith
1998 Belgian GP: When the Schumachers went to war
Formula 1
Formula 1
1998 Belgian GP: When the Schumachers went to war
The race that transformed perceptions of Red Bull
Formula 1
Formula 1
The race that transformed perceptions of Red Bull
Hamilton in the process of selecting Brad Pitt’s co-star for F1 movie
Formula 1
Formula 1
Hamilton in the process of selecting Brad Pitt’s co-star for F1 movie
More from
Mercedes
Christian Horner admits that F1 rivalry with Toto Wolff became "theatre"
Formula 1
Formula 1 20 h
Christian Horner admits that F1 rivalry with Toto Wolff became "theatre"
‘I’ll put a pillow under his butt’ – How Toto Wolff wants to solve Kimi Antonelli’s track limits problem
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
‘I’ll put a pillow under his butt’ – How Toto Wolff wants to solve Kimi Antonelli’s track limits problem
Latest news
Max Verstappen on GTWC Europe debut: “We’re here to win”
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance
WCEE GT World Challenge Europe Endurance 6 h
Max Verstappen on GTWC Europe debut: “We’re here to win”
How to watch NASCAR at Phoenix II: Weekend schedule, start time, entry list, TV
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Phoenix II
6 h
How to watch NASCAR at Phoenix II: Weekend schedule, start time, entry list, TV
Ryan Ellis signs multi-year NASCAR O'Reilly deal with Alpha Prime Racing
NASCAR O'Reilly
NOAP NASCAR O'Reilly
Phoenix II
6 h
Ryan Ellis signs multi-year NASCAR O'Reilly deal with Alpha Prime Racing
Ayao Komatsu: Rafael Camara chosen for F1 2027 seat on speed, not Ferrari links
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
12 h
Ayao Komatsu: Rafael Camara chosen for F1 2027 seat on speed, not Ferrari links
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe