Toto Wolff has said Mercedes mustn't believe that they are out of the woods with their troublesome W13, just because the car performed strongly in Barcelona. The Spanish Grand Prix saw both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell come to life, with Russell a thorn in the side of the two Red Bull drivers during the first half of the race. Lewis Hamilton also showed tremendous pace, albeit coming from the back of the pack after a first-lap clash with Haas' Kevin Magnussen. It was the first properly competitive showing from Mercedes since the season began, with the recalcitrant W13 unable to challenge Red Bull or Ferrari at the other six races of the season. After seven races, Mercedes are 101 points behind Red Bull in the Constructors' Championship.
Woll: We'll do everything we can to catch up
With Mercedes still working diligently to understand the porpoising that has been the crux of most of their performance deficit, Wolff explained that there is "no emotion" involved in the process. "As early as possible but, in this sport, some things take time," Wolff told Austrian publication Kronen Zeitung , when asked about the team's recovery process. "For me, personally, it's boring. No emotions are released when I have to watch that we can't fight for victories. But we'll do everything we can to catch up." Despite seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton currently lying sixth, 75 points away from Max Verstappen, in the Drivers' Championship, Wolff said it's too early to write off another title tilt from him. "Lewis was brilliant at Barcelona," he stated. "Writing him off would be a very foolish mistake."
While the Mercedes was clearly fast in Barcelona, a track that serves as a blueprint for a 'typical' Formula 1 track due to its medium and high-speed layout, Wolff said it appears the Barcelona benchmark no longer seems to apply. "You have to be careful there," he explained when asked about the strength of the W13. "It used to be said that, if you are strong in Barcelona, the whole season will be good. That is no longer the case. "We mustn't fall into the mode of picking out individual laps and saying we were good there. We're rather skeptical, want to find out what worked in Barcelona - and we want to build on that." Wolff pointed to the example of Alpine, as Fernando Alonso was a contender for a front-row start in Melbourne in a car that hasn't otherwise troubled the leaders. "Fernando Alonso would have been on the front row in Melbourne if he hadn't lost his gearbox," he said. "And does Alpine now say: We have a car for pole? No!"
Most read
