Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has detailed how a “deliberate” set-up experiment exacerbated the team’s struggles in hot conditions in the Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix.
The German marque’s aim to maintain the momentum that the morale-boosting win in Canada provided was dispelled with an arduous weekend at the Red Bull Ring.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli was eliminated on the opening lap when he clattered into Max Verstappen’s Red Bull at Turn 3, while George Russell trailed home a distant fifth.
Russell crossed the line a minute behind Lando Norris’ race-winning McLaren as the scorching temperature, combined with an abrasive asphalt, hampered Mercedes.
The setback came as no surprise to Mercedes as, like its troubled predecessor, the W16 has tended to sustain a dip in competitiveness when the conditions escalate.
However, Wolff has explained how the team’s decision to sample a radical set-up direction aggravated the problem that was expected to trouble Mercedes regardless.
“We deliberately experimented on set-up in Spielberg; it was a useful test and there are positive learnings we can apply this weekend, but it ultimately didn’t help our performance,” he said.
“The only positive thing I take away from this weekend is that we tried something extreme: in Montreal it worked, here it didn’t.
“We could have used last year’s set-up (when Mercedes won the race) and maybe, I don’t know, we would have finished on the podium.
“We tried to take something from Barcelona and Montreal, in terms of set-up and aero-mechanical balance, but it was the wrong choice.
“Now we have ticked this box too. It would have been dramatic if we were playing for a win or a championship, but that is not the case.”
But with the temperature at Silverstone this weekend predicted to remain around the low 20C mark, Wolff is optimistic that Mercedes is well-placed to bounce back.
“Silverstone has typically been a strong circuit for us,” he acknowledged, with Mercedes having taken pole position and won the race in the 2024 British Grand Prix.
“The cooler conditions should suit our car, and we are hopeful of putting on a good performance in front of our team-mates and the British fans, who always provide a great atmosphere”
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