Toto Wolff urges Mercedes to find answers as major strength is undermined

Toto Wolff has called on Mercedes to find answers to a particular aspect of the performance of the cars that has plagued the team for a considerable period.

The recent triple-header in Imola, Monaco and Spain, proved to be particularly chastening for Mercedes and Wolff, who was unable to find very few positives, with the team collecting just 18 points.

Even one of Mercedes' staples over the years, its power unit, proved to be the undoing of Kimi Antonelli in Spain on Sunday, with his retirement late on triggering a safety car and sparking several laps of mayhem and contentious decisions from the stewards.

That left Antonelli without a point from the three races on F1's return to Europe, and Wolff, in particular, requesting a solution for the tyre concerns he wants to see an end to before next year's crucial regulation change.  

"Yeah, it's difficult to see lots of positives, apart from the trajectory that seemed to be a little bit better in tyre management," said Wolff, reflecting on the triple-header in speaking to the media, including RacingNews365.

"We have to look at whether that was an engine failure [on Antonelli's car]. Clearly, it looks like that at first sight, and that is our strength. So we need to see where that comes from.

"But overall, it's important to understand the tyres, because that is going to be an important factor next year, beyond all the sporting and technical regulations, [and] engine regulations."

Mercedes issue 'in the car'

Wolff maintains that Mercedes' tyre performance, especially in hot conditions and notably affecting the rears, is the continuation of a pattern that has long affected the cars.

"Our car, generally over the years, was struggling more with the rear tyre overheating than others," said Wolff. "We were always very strong when it was cold, when that wasn't an issue.

"If you look back at Las Vegas last year, we went out and from the first flying lap onwards, the drivers said, 'That car is awesome. We have so much grip, like never before'.

"All of the other drivers were saying there's no grip, and they were sliding around. So you can see that is certainly intrinsic in the car, which you can mask or make worse with setup directions, but it's something that's in the car."