Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has labelled the squad’s performance fluctuations as “unacceptable” after it struggled during Formula 1 qualifying in Miami.
George Russell fronted a 1-2 during the opening practice session in Miami but the W14’s performance level has dipped across the following sessions.
Russell wound up sixth in qualifying, almost a second off of pole position, while Lewis Hamilton was eliminated during Q2 and will start Sunday’s race from 13th place.
“We are 12 months on from when we were last in Miami,” said Wolff, who described the performance as “worse than I thought it would be.
“The car is just marginally better [than 2022]. Some bouncing on the straight, that is the only thing that is better than last year. The car is not fast enough and we haven’t got any comprehension of why that is. Our car is P1 and P2 in one session and then the next one you are P6 and P13. It’s just unacceptable.”
Wolff described the W14 as “not a nice car, not a good car… the performance is just really bad.”
Mercedes is due to introduce a heavily revised package at the next round at Imola and Wolff is cautiously optimistic that the squad can take a step.
“I think what we are trying to do with the upgrade is to create a new baseline for us to take question marks and variables out of the equation and say this is not a problem now that we have come to a different spec, for example front suspension,” he said.
“We are also looking at bodywork solutions that are more conventional than others, and that will create a different airflow. So for me, that is almost like a reset with what would have been a good start 12 months ago and then try to add performance. But the moment it is just a lack of understanding [of the car].”
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