Mercedes is currently ranked fourth in terms of speed among the teams competing in the 2024 F1 season. Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff (Via: Imago)
The Mercedes F1 team has faced a series of challenges since the start of the 2024 season. Despite performing well in testing in Bahrain, the team has gradually fallen behind on the grid. With disappointing results in P7 and P8 during qualifying in Miami, the team’s performance has been heavily criticized.
Currently, the Brackley team is considered the fourth fastest team, behind Red Bull, Ferrari, and even McLaren. The team has struggled to deal with issues in their W15 car, and Toto Wolff admitted that these problems cannot be easily fixed.
At the moment, the team has only accumulated 52 points in the Constructors’ Championship.
The Austrian’s reaction to the situation has been concise and clear. His frustration with the W15 is evident, as the car is far from the level of its competitors. The drivers themselves have expressed dissatisfaction with the machine, with Lewis Hamilton being especially vocal about his frustrations on several occasions.
While Toto Wolff has lost hope in the W15, George Russell remains optimistic. He believes that the team’s performance during qualifying in Miami was the best they could achieve with the disappointing W15.
Furthermore, Russell hopes that the team will make consistent progress to catch up with their rivals in 2024.
Red Bull has emerged as the dominant team under the current F1 regulations, while Ferrari and McLaren have also shown significant improvements this year. In contrast, the Mercedes team has consistently lagged behind.
With Lewis Hamilton’s departure from the team at the end of the year, the pressure is on Toto Wolff and his colleagues to provide him with a competitive car. In the upcoming Miami GP, the Mercedes duo will start from the fourth row on the grid for the 57-lap race.