Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has asserted that he is not “concerned” about the team’s return to “underdog status” in Formula 1 amid a bruising United States Grand Prix.
The German marque ventured into the weekend optimistic that an upgrade package could help it return to the race-winning levels it showed before the summer break.
But although the updated W15 delivered promise as George Russell qualified second for the Sprint, he soon went backwards in the race and crashed out of qualifying.
Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton endured a race-ending spin into the gravel at the same turn, which he believes could be attributed to the developments Mercedes brought.
However, Wolff has denied that the side’s newest parts contain a “fundamental issue”, despite Russell on the old-spec package salvaging sixth place from the pit lane.
Asked whether Mercedes understood the reasons behind its weekend prospects unravelling, though, Wolff told media including Motorsport Week: “No, no we don’t.”
Mercedes seeking answers
Wolff remains unperturbed by Mercedes’ latest setback, although he has conceded that the squad’s expectations must be tempered across the remaining five rounds.
“I think that this is a data-driven sport and there will be lots of digging between why were we fastest on Friday evening, why not anymore in qualifying the next day, what was the circumstances of that, what do the data say and then today’s performance, lots of data collection,” he explained.
“So that’s why it’s not concerning for me. It’s just where we are, we are back to underdog status.
“We are not back to [the] pre-summer situation, it’s not about coming into the weekend and thinking, ‘at the moment we are fourth team on the road, how are we turning this around to be third, or second’.
“And managing our expectations for the rest of the year, seeing it very much as a test, whilst going into the weekend and pushing as much as we can.”
Wolff denies ‘confusion’ at Mercedes
Wolff is adamant that Mercedes is still working towards a “clear direction” going into 2025 even with the unintended complications that have arisen with this upgrade.
“No, I think this weekend is going to be less confusing,” he reasoned.
“In a way, when we came to the weekend, I said I’d like to have two scenarios which are going to help us forward.
“One is everything works and the car is quick because we know what the performance upgrade should bring in theory.
“Or it swings the other way around and we’re having inconsistencies in the upgrade and it’s not getting any better.
“But we also have a clear direction. Now, as I said, I think the upgrade in per se on the RSI is fine.
“It’s just the things that interact with each other that create situations that trigger such inconsistent behaviour of the product.”
READ MORE: Mercedes denies ‘fundamental issue’ with F1 upgrades amid Lewis Hamilton concern
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