Wolff supports Hamilton victory viewpoint
Wolff supports Hamilton victory viewpoint
Toto Wolff is in agreement with Lewis Hamilton that a Mercedes team "putting things together slowly but surely" can win an F1 grand prix this season.
Mercedes has only endured two winless seasons since it returned to the sport after acquiring the championship-winning Brawn GP team at the end of 2009 - and those were as it found its feet in 2010 and 2011.
Never, however, has it failed to take the chequered flag in any campaign since Lewis Hamilton joined the team in 2013, although at the halfway stage of this season there is a chance of that happening.
It is certainly the first time since 2011 that Mercedes has reached such a point in a year and not won a race, with seven third-placed finishes - four for Hamilton and three for Russell - the best it has achieved so far.
Mercedes has, however, made strides of late with its W13 that is no longer bouncing as much as in previous races, leading to optimism from Hamilton he can maintain his streak of winning a grand prix in every season in which he has competed.
Wolff also senses a turning of the tide. Asked if he felt his team will be victorious again this year, he replied: "At Silverstone, if you look at our metrics, we had the fastest race car. We were pretty competitive in Barcelona, too.
"In Austria, we were more competitive in qualifying. In the race, we had a combination between too much drag and it seemed like we were lacking a tiny bit of power.
"Overall, Austria was never a happy track for us. Predominantly over the last eight years that we have been successful in the championship, it was the one track where we struggled, so from that perspective, I am okay with how it went.
“In the sprint, we were really stuck in no man’s land, and in the race, we were maybe stuck in no man’s land from the positioning on the track but the lap times were at least competitive.
"So the truth is that I think yes is the answer. We are putting things together slowly but surely and that would be the target."
Mercedes "pure performance" worry
Wolff, however, has previously made clear that he feels the W13s are still around two to three-tenths of a second slower than Red Bull and Ferrari.
As to whether that was pure performance or an effect of any ongoing porpoising issues, despite the recent strides made to cure that phenomenon, Wolff said: "I think that is pure performance.
“The porpoising I think we have got on top of. If we were to go back to Monaco and to Baku, we wouldn’t be great.
"But we would, for sure, not have the problems we saw a few weeks ago.”
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
F1 Sprint Qualifying Results: Chinese Grand Prix 2024 times as Verstappen stunned in rainy CHAOS
- 13 minutes ago
F1 Results Today: Chinese Grand Prix practice times as SURPRISE driver tops charts
- 3 hours ago
Another bizarre fire STOPS action at Chinese Grand Prix
- 28 minutes ago
EXCLUSIVE: Hamilton and Ferrari chief had meals together years before 2025 signing
- 58 minutes ago
F1 Chinese Grand Prix weather forecast - latest today from Shanghai
- 1 hour ago
Young F1 star set to make McLaren debut in injury replacement
- 1 hour ago
Related news
Wolff 'p*****' by Verstappen error as star makes Mercedes debut
Hamilton to open Wolff talks at Mercedes amid Ferrari F1 move uncertainty
Mercedes announce MAJOR £5.9 million loss in profits
Verstappen admits new Mercedes relationship with F1 future update
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860