Mercedes form 'unacceptable" as team suffer Lewis Hamilton-era low - Toto Wolff

Wolff at Azerbaijan — Photo: © LAT Images

Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Mercedes form 'unacceptable" as team suffer Hamilton-era low - Wolff

The world champion team has scored seven points in the last two races

Ian Parkes & Sam Hall

Monday 7 June 2021 05:00

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Toto Wolff has labelled Mercedes' recent results as "not acceptable" after the team plummeted to its worst form since 2012.

Lewis Hamilton's penultimate lap lock-up in Baku threw away a probable 18 points while Valtteri Bottas failed to even get into the top 10, leaving Mercedes with a rare zero-point haul and just seven points from the past two races.

It is Mercedes' worst two-race points total since the final two grands prix of 2012 when Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg drove for the team before Hamilton's arrival the following season.

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Red Bull took advantage to extend its constructors' championship lead with victory for Sergio Perez and although Max Verstappen's failure to finish due to a tyre blowout left a four-point gap between the duo, Wolff wants immediate answers.

"There are lots of things that are not running as smoothly as they have in the past few years," said Wolff. "Operationally it is not our ‘A-game’. We haven’t found the real sweet spot through qualifying and the race.

“There is just so much that we need to improve that I just want to get on it right now in order to make sure that we [are] actually able to compete for this championship.

"We can’t continue losing points like we have done in Monaco and here. It’s just not acceptable for all of us.”

Mercedes to "rectify the gaps"

Wolff, who said he and Hamilton would be "having a drink" on the long four-hour flight back from Baku together on Sunday night, said the result would "hurt until Thursday" but is determined to channel his frustration.

He added: “First, everybody has to pick themselves up and I will do this overnight and flying home, and then we just need to get into motion to rectify the gaps that we have. “We have two weeks and there is time to work on that and the championship is wide, wide open. It is very early days so we will make sure that the frustration goes and satisfaction comes.”