Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff reveals key turning point in team's season

Toto Wolff, Saudi Arabian GP, 2024, generic — Photo: © IMAGO

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Wolff reveals key turning point in Mercedes' F1 season

Lewis Hamilton's performance in China showed signs of progress

Kevin McKenna

Tuesday 13 August 2024 09:57 Updated: 10:37

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Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has pinpointed the moment at which he believes the team's 2024 fortunes began to turn.

It has been an up-and-down campaign so far for the Brackley-based outfit, and with Formula 1 currently midway through its summer break, Wolff has been reflecting on their progress to date.

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The team made a slow start to the season, failing to match the early pace set by the likes of Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has endured a turbulent season at the helm

Results have picked up in recent months for George Russell and Lewis Hamilton

'We've made solid steps forward'

After securing just 26 points from the opening three races, drivers George Russell and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton were quick to voice their frustrations.

Results improved marginally following the Australian Grand Prix - where both racers failed to finish - before Russell's stunning pole in Montreal in Round 9 sparked an upturn in form.

Despite failing to convert that result into a win, Russell did finish on the podium, coming home in third ahead, one place ahead of his team-mate.

The 26-year-old eventually secured his first win of the season in Austria, before Hamilton repeated the feat one week later at Silverstone.

Hamilton also triumphed at the final grand prix before the summer break, but only after initial winner Russell was disqualified for breaching weight regulations post-race.

Russell was left heartbroken after being stripped of his Belgian GP win before the break

Though claiming a first constructors' title since 2021 remains an unrealistic goal for this season, their recent progress has suggested they are narrowing the gap to the top teams.

Writing on the team's official website, Wolff opened up on their early season difficulties, but highlighted the weekend when their much-maligned W15 demonstrated its true potential, and prompted a fresh wave of optimism within the garage.

"The start of the season was difficult," admitted the Austrian. "Our aim over the winter had been to solve the underlying issues that hampered the W14 - we managed that but found new problems.

"This also made the picture clearer, we had ticked many boxes of things we thought had caused our issues. There was not a lot left over, therefore.

"The team worked hard to get on top of these issues. As we progressed, we realised what we were doing wrong.

"From that point on, we've made solid steps forward.

"We saw that in China. Lewis' Sprint P2 was a strong performance and a good indication of the potential the W15 had - it was encouraging."

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