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The Silver Arrows camp had a torrid outing at the Australian Grand Prix last weekend. The W15 suffered from driving instability, Lewis Hamilton failed to progress in Q3 before retiring with engine failure and George Russell crashed heavily two laps from the checkered flag.
Although the car showed competitive pace on occasion in Melbourne, it was inconsistent – despite abandoning the zero-size sidepod concept and moving the cockpit rearward for 2024, aimed in part at creating a flat -more reliable form.
Wolff believes Mercedes has a “physics problem” and there is a problem correlating wind tunnel data with track performance, but says the team hasn’t “swallowed a stupid pill” since it won the last of eight constructors’ crowns in 2021.
“As a co-owner of this company, I have to make sure that my contribution is positive and creative,” said the Austrian. “So I’ll be the first to say, ‘If anyone has a better idea, let me know.’ I want to turn this team around as quickly as possible.
“I’ll be happy to give my opinion and see what it would be, who it could be. But we have a physics problem and not a philosophy or organization problem, because we haven’t swallowed a stupid pill since 2021.
“It’s just that we don’t understand certain behaviors of the car that we always would have understood in the past.”
Toto Wolff, Team Principal and CEO, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
This was in response to a question asking whether he was still the right person to lead Mercedes, having initially joined the team as executive director in 2013.
Addressing his future directly, Wolff – who signed a new three-year contract earlier this year to remain at the helm of Brackley’s operations – felt he was not yet at the point where he was considering ceding control .
“I look in the mirror every day about everything I do,” said Wolff, who owns a 33 percent stake in the team.
“If I thought I should ask the manager or the coach, I think it’s a fair question, but it’s not what I feel at the moment that I should do.
“But if you have any ideas that might change the situation, I’d be happy to listen to them.”
“The big difference is that it’s not the manager’s question in terms of ‘this is my job and I’m going to stop working’… I don’t have that choice, which is also unfortunate.
“I’m not an entrepreneur or an employee who says, ‘I’ve had enough of this.’ My hamster wheel keeps spinning and I can’t jump.
Watch: F1 Australian Grand Prix 2024 Review – Ferrari From Top to Bottom
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