George Russell didn't see the finish line in Melbourne. © APA/afp / PAUL CROCK

Mercedes in crisis: “Hamster wheel keeps turning”

Frustrated by the Formula 1 disaster in Australia, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff would have preferred to wash himself off. Even in the third year after the aerodynamic revolution, the former industry leader seems to be stuck in a dead end in the hunt for the top.

March 25, 2024

From: dpa/sn

The first double failure since Austria in 2018 was a low point. “It’s a very, very hard time at the moment,” admitted Wolff. Mercedes simply cannot get its unstable rear under control, which costs time in the fast corners. Drivers also complain about so-called bouncing, which is an aerodynamic phenomenon where the car essentially jumps over the asphalt. At times the Mercedes with the registration W15 even shows its speed potential, then it just blows away. Why is that? Wolff would like to know that.

“We don't understand some of the car's behavior that we would have always understood in the past,” said the Austrian, who also holds 33,3 percent of the shares in the racing team, about the moody Mercedes. Melbourne was a big blow for Mercedes. Record world champion Lewis Hamilton retired early in the third race of the season after an engine failure, while teammate George Russell was unable to finish the Grand Prix due to an accident shortly before the end.

Wolff is not thinking about retreating

After the debacle at the Albert Park Circuit, Hamilton had to admit: “This is the worst start to the season I have ever experienced.” Hamilton started the new year with just eight points. “Of course I would like to fight for wins and actually finish races. “It’s never a great feeling when you come here and don’t even see half of the race,” he said. “But we will recover.”

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has to work on his car. © ANSA / ANDREJ ISAKOVIC / POOL

The pressure is increasing at Mercedes. And Wolff sees himself as having a duty first and foremost. “I look in the mirror every day and question what I’m doing,” said Wolff, who signed a new contract until the end of 2026 at the beginning of the year and publicly has no thoughts of withdrawing. “I’m not a contractor or employee who says, ‘I’ve had enough of this. My hamster wheel keeps spinning and I can’t get off.”