Wolff reveals Mercedes improvement ahead of new F1 season

Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff has revealed that his squad is looking to tighten up their pit stop procedures for the 2024 Formula 1 season.

The Brackley-based squad endured a difficult campaign last year as it suffered its first winless year since 2011 while rivals Red Bull cruised to double championship success.

Red Bull was also the most consistent performer when it came to pit stops as it topped the end-of-year DHL Fastest Pit Stop Award table.

Mercedes was left languishing in the bottom half of the standings, indicating that its pit stops were not up to scratch during the campaign.

Speaking to the Telegraph, Wolff explained that Mercedes has focused on improving “areas such as wheel-locking mechanisms and axle materials” for its pit stops.

“I think the regulations, how they were laid out a few years ago, we interpreted them in a very conservative way,” he stated.

“And we’ve seen other teams doing it differently. So watch this space. I think it’s going to be very different.”

Hamilton title chances

Mercedes has won just a single Grand Prix in the last two seasons after slipping back in the pecking order with the introduction of new technical regulations.

However, both of its drivers are locked in for the foreseeable future with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell signing extensions until the end of 2025 last year.

Although it is enduring a dip in form, Wolff is confident that Mercedes can deliver Hamilton a record-breaking eighth World Championship before he retires.

“The answer is clearly yes in capital letters,” he said. “There is a reason Lewis is a seven-time world champion, and has broken all the records… his ability is on a different level.

“If we are able to give him a car that he actually feels, that drives in a way that he can trust, he will be on the level that’s needed to win the championship. 39 is no age.”