Although the German manufacturer was buoyed by Lewis Hamilton’s second place finish in last weekend’s China sprint, it still endured a difficult grand prix as it came back behind McLaren and Ferrari.
But with there being no notable upward trend in his form despite efforts to better understand his W15, Wolff believes he needs to improve his game rather than thinking the glimmers of hope are the reality of his situation current.
Speaking to ServusTV about his reaction to the Chinese GP weekend, Wolff said: “Not happy at all. Perhaps a small highlight with second place in the sprint race, but the performance is not there.
“We can continue to say that there were positives this weekend, but we have to take a step.
“We’ll bring a little something to Miami, where hopefully we can expect something. But today you are just behind the Ferraris and behind [Lando] Norris. But not good enough.”
Mercedes approached the year optimistic about the progress it was making with its W15, and its initial conclusion was that the platform was strong but had some weaknesses in high-speed cornering.
However, as events progressed, the team discovered more complications with the car, making it difficult to find the right sweet spot with the settings.
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W15, Kevin Magnussen, Haas VF-24, Zhou Guanyu, Kick Sauber C44
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
As Wolff admitted in China, the progress made with his high speed characteristics was proven in Japan, but that progress came at the expense of his pace in the other corners.
“I think we absolutely achieved it, at high speed we were super competitive, also at Suzuka through the Esses, and it was night and day compared to what we had before,” Wolff said .
“The drivers were talking about it as the best car they had in the last two and a half years. Then we really didn’t perform well at low speed.
“So you gain half a second at high speed, but you lose half a second at low speed. The equation is back to zero, so that’s something we need to improve on.
“We’re past the point of understanding and we just need to get better now. This is what we must aim for, and we have all the facts on the table.
“We know what we changed to fix the high speed issues, and we know where the car was before to be fast at low speeds. Now all we have to do is put together the car that will do both. »
Even though Mercedes has failed to finish on the podium at a grand prix so far this season, Wolff doesn’t think this year’s car is any worse than its previous ground-effects machine.
George Russell, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team, Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team, wave to the crowd during the driver presentation
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Instead, he believes his team may have been flattered before when rivals like McLaren and Ferrari had their own competitive struggles.
“The advantage we had was that McLaren didn’t race against us for the first half of the season, so they weren’t a competitor,” he said.
“Ferrari wasn’t as fast and dropped the ball a few times and that’s why we were podium contenders and closest to Red Bull.
“Now these teams have improved their performance levels. It’s a relative game and so what was good enough for third place last year is good enough for third place now. [only] good enough for sixth grade. That’s why it’s difficult.
“The car is as difficult as in the past, delicate for the drivers. George [Russell]when we discussed it [on Saturday], said it was the trickiest qualifying car he had had so far. So overall, in a way, the same symptoms. »
Watch: F1 Chinese Grand Prix 2024 Review – Verstappen Dominates
Although the German manufacturer was buoyed by Lewis Hamilton’s second place finish in last weekend’s China sprint, it still endured a difficult grand prix as it came back behind McLaren and Ferrari.
But with there being no notable upward trend in his form despite efforts to better understand his W15, Wolff believes he needs to improve his game rather than thinking the glimmers of hope are the reality of his situation current.
Speaking to ServusTV about his reaction to the Chinese GP weekend, Wolff said: “Not happy at all. Perhaps a small highlight with second place in the sprint race, but the performance is not there.
“We can continue to say that there were positives this weekend, but we have to take a step.
“We’ll bring a little something to Miami, where hopefully we can expect something. But today you are just behind the Ferraris and behind [Lando] Norris. But not good enough.”
Mercedes approached the year optimistic about the progress it was making with its W15, and its initial conclusion was that the platform was strong but had some weaknesses in high-speed cornering.
However, as events progressed, the team discovered more complications with the car, making it difficult to find the right sweet spot with the settings.
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W15, Kevin Magnussen, Haas VF-24, Zhou Guanyu, Kick Sauber C44
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
As Wolff admitted in China, the progress made with his high speed characteristics was proven in Japan, but that progress came at the expense of his pace in the other corners.
“I think we absolutely achieved it, at high speed we were super competitive, also at Suzuka through the Esses, and it was night and day compared to what we had before,” Wolff said .
“The drivers were talking about it as the best car they had in the last two and a half years. Then we really didn’t perform well at low speed.
“So you gain half a second at high speed, but you lose half a second at low speed. The equation is back to zero, so that’s something we need to improve on.
“We’re past the point of understanding and we just need to get better now. This is what we must aim for, and we have all the facts on the table.
“We know what we changed to fix the high speed issues, and we know where the car was before to be fast at low speeds. Now all we have to do is put together the car that will do both. »
Even though Mercedes has failed to finish on the podium at a grand prix so far this season, Wolff doesn’t think this year’s car is any worse than its previous ground-effects machine.
George Russell, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team, Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team, wave to the crowd during the driver presentation
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Instead, he believes his team may have been flattered before when rivals like McLaren and Ferrari had their own competitive struggles.
“The advantage we had was that McLaren didn’t race against us for the first half of the season, so they weren’t a competitor,” he said.
“Ferrari wasn’t as fast and dropped the ball a few times and that’s why we were podium contenders and closest to Red Bull.
“Now these teams have improved their performance levels. It’s a relative game and so what was good enough for third place last year is good enough for third place now. [only] good enough for sixth grade. That’s why it’s difficult.
“The car is as difficult as in the past, delicate for the drivers. George [Russell]when we discussed it [on Saturday], said it was the trickiest qualifying car he had had so far. So overall, in a way, the same symptoms. »
Watch: F1 Chinese Grand Prix 2024 Review – Verstappen Dominates