“Must be tense at Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff openly expressing disappointment”
Mercedes endured a difficult season-opening race in Bahrain, finishing fifth and seventh, over 50 seconds behind race winner 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Max Verstappen.
They left Bahrain with the fourth-quickest car on the F1 2023 grid, dropping behind custome꧙r team Aston Martin.
Mercedes’ underwhelming pace has resulted in a sensational u-turn from Wolffꦺ, who hinted that the team may adopt a new car concept later in the season.
This was backed up by a number of reports, including one from German outlet AMuS, that claimed Mercedes have t�⛎�wo new concepts in their wind tunnel.
Writing in his post-race column for Sky Sports F1, Brundle noticed a clear change in tone from Hamilton an✤d Wolff in Bahrain.
“It seems to me that Mercedes went the wrong way in 2022 and refuse to turn aroﷺund,” Brundle wrote. “Even Lewis and Toto were openly expressing their disappointment at certain points of the weekend, and normally they only sing the praises of the teams at Brackley and Bri🌊xworth.
“It must be tense at the team right now; the quality is there it just needs direction and oxygen to calm heads.'Zero-sidepod concept' is not the buzz phrase they'll want❀ to hear again, but the mantra from the team was that to change direction would necessitate a step backwards first before working up and understanding a new philosophy of aerodynamics.
“George Russell has already said thꦍat he's prepared to suffer that pain for longౠer term gain.”
Mercedes were in a similar position 12 months ago, considerably off the pace of the top two teams, while also ombating the issue of 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:porpoising.
Despite the plethor🍰a of issues, Hamilton and the rest of th൩e team maintained a positive mindset as they looked to turn the team around.
Brundle doubts Mercedes have the “appetite”🦂 for another year of trying to cover like in 2022.
“They dogmatically turned the Mercedes into a late winning car last season,൩ but I don't see✃ or hear the appetite for another year like that,” he added.
“In th💞e early phases of the hybrid era, they had such a hugely dominant power unit - they haven't got that anymore. When the window was open to improve the power units, they lost out. They've also lost key people like Andy Cowell, James Vowles, and others, with James Allison also currently focused elsewhere. The remaining talent pool is immense, but it hasn't gelled yet.”
With a sharp eye for F1’s controversies and storylines, Co💖nnor is t𒅌he heartbeat of our unbiased reporting.
