Wolff reveals Hamilton Russell unity push but Mercedes rule out "magic fix"

Toto Wolff has hailed the "important contribution" Lewis Hamilton and George Russell are making to Mercedes' bid to return to the front in F1 but has warned against an immediate fix for this weekend's Australian Grand Prix.

Mercedes has found itself on the backfoot after the opening two races of the season and following the introduction of the new aerodynamic regulations and the resultant ground-effect cars.

While rivals Ferrari and Red Bull have developed stable machinery, Mercedes' W13 has been badly affected by the bouncing effect along the straights, with its attempts to find a cure taking up considerable time and resources.

Wolff is at least relieved his new driver pairing of Hamilton and Russell, given the situation, are working in unison to help the team discover a solution as swiftly as possible.

"Lewis and George are making an important contribution to the overall effort, providing feedback, spending time in the simulator and working together to help push us forward," said Wolff.

Mercedes push but no magic

The Austrian concedes Mercedes is currently "in a learning race", with the opening two races showing it still has "plenty to learn".

Wolff added: "At the moment, our track performance is not meeting our own expectations, but everyone at Brackley and Brixworth is focused on understanding the problems and finding the right solutions. "There won't be a magic fix for the next race weekend, but we're pushing to steadily bring gains over the upcoming races, to hopefully move us closer to the front of the pack.

"Until then, we need to maximise each opportunity and make the most of the package we have. "So, there are various challenges ahead of us, but that's something we relish and is when a team really shows its true spirit."

Daily poll

Lewis Hamilton has scored a record-equalling eight poles in Melbourne but only won twice. Will he add to his victory tally this weekend?

Related

Lewis Hamilton

Hamilton sends strong message over Gaza deaths

• Yesterday 22:57

F1 News & Gossip

Former F1 chief hits out at Hamilton 'EXCUSES'

• Yesterday 13:57