Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has revealed yet more problems for his team, after admitting that Lewis Hamilton and George Russell are ‘unhappy’ with their car which is said to be ‘bouncing like a kangaroo’. The defending constructors' champions have endured a difficult start to 2022 amid problems with their car.
And, it seems things haven’t got any better for the Silver Arrows out in America for the inaugural Miami Grand Prix, after Wolff gave yet another damning assessment. Saturday saw the final stage of qualifying ahead of Sunday’s race and it was once again a difficult session for Mercedes.
Seven-time world champion Hamilton continued to lag behind the likes of Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc, securing sixth place on the grid for today’s Grand Prix.
There was even more disappointment for his teammate Russell, who endured a difficult Saturday to leave him way back in 12th. Following the final qualifying session their Mercedes boss held no punches when describing the state of the Silver Arrows’ struggling car.
When asked if there had been any improvements he told Sky Sports: “No, not at all. I think we have seen a performance car yesterday in FP2 that was real, we were able to put it in a sweet spot. Today in FP3 we were completely off with the experiments that we did.
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“The car is still bouncing like a kangaroo and the drivers are not happy with it and you can see that is the reason we are off.” Despite the struggles Wolff did reveal that he and his team now have a better understanding on what does and doesn’t work with their vehicle following upgrades.
The Austrian continued: “Yes, we definitely have a better handle [on what does and doesn’t work]. Also the slump that we had from yesterday and today helped.” Chuckling, Wolff seemed glad to finally have some positive news (however small it may be), adding: “Yeah, it lifted me up that, it lifted me up.”
It has been noted that the key problem for Mercedes is the floor of the vehicle, however Wolff believes it is never as easy as having just one problem, and is more often than not a collection of separate issues. “You are right it is never one thing that is responsible for performance and under-performance.
“We had a good car yesterday afternoon. We worsened it a little bit, some things we do understand, but others we do not.” Wolff will be hoping for an improvement this evening when Hamilton, Russell and the rest of their F1 rivals get the first ever Miami Grand Prix underway at 8:30pm BST.
