Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has given an 'extremely painful' assessment of Lewis Hamilton ’s start to the Formula 1 season. Hamilton and his team have struggled to adapt to the new FIA car regulations, and this was clear to see when the Englishman could only manage a 10th-placed finish in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Sunday.
Hamilton kicked off the campaign with a podium finish, as he came home in third at the season opener in Bahrain. However, it is more than fair to say this was fortunate, after Red Bull’s Sergio Perez spun out on the first corner of the final lap to gift the seven-time world champion third place.
Mercedes - led by Hamilton - have dominated the sport in recent times, having won the last eight constructors’ championships. However if the early stages of 2022 are anything to go by, it seems the two teams to catch are that of Red Bull and Ferrari.
Discussing his team’s and Hamilton’s start to the season, Wolff told Sky Sports : "We were right in the middle of those fun games at the front for eight years. It's extremely painful to not be part of those games by quite a chunk of lap-time deficit. It's no fun at all."
Even more worryingly though, it appears the Silver Arrows boss is unsure as to why his team’s performances are so far behind that of Red Bull and Ferrari, admitting that there are 'deficits' everywhere.
He added: "We are not running the car where we are wanting to run it, therefore it's very difficult to really assess what the lap time deficit is if we're able to run the car lower. I would very much hope that the gap is much closer to what we've seen, but there are deficits everywhere."
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Wolff also spoke about how the FIA’s new regulations have seemingly worked from their own point of view, with the first two races proving 'spectacular' viewing with plenty of overtaking. The Austrian however believes F1’s gain has been Mercedes’ downfall.
He commented: "They have achieved what they wanted to achieve. Spectacular racing, good overtaking, the grid has been shaken up - which is less fun for us - but it happens.
"The midfield is extremely close so overall, from the entertainment factor, I'm happy about the hype around Formula 1. I think then they achieved the target. You can only applaud for how that all came in."
