Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has called for areas of improvement despite leading both Formula 1 World Championships, acknowledging “lost points through self-inflicted issues”.
The German marque will, regardless of the outcome at this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, remain top of the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships, after a largely dominant first half of the season.
Its W17 package has enabled Andrea Kimi Antonelli to sit pretty in first place, but teammate George Russell remains in the unenviable position of trying to recover the deficit, furthered by a first-lap retirement in Belgium last week.
A battery issue put him under threat at the Les Combes corner, and was duly punted off by Lewis Hamilton as a result, leaving him without any points, as Antonelli took victory, to open his gap to the Brit to 50 points, and 45 ahead of Hamilton.
Mercedes’ reliability issues and some shrewd work from Ferrari has seen the Scuderia remain in-touch with the Silver Arrows, despite possessing an inferior power unit, with Hamilton taking victory in Barcelona, and Leclerc in Britain.
The Monegasque reminded Mercedes of Ferrari’s presence with second place, losing the lead to Antonelli in the final 10 laps at Spa-Francorchamps.
Ahead of this weekend’s race at the Hungaroring, the final one before the sport’s summer break, Wolff noted the team’s performances, but stressed the ongoing work to remedy the problems that have left it still vulnerable to threats of its number one status.
“We have shown at every race so far that the performance is there,” he said. “We have not converted enough of that potential into results though. We have lost points through self-inflicted issues, and we know we need to improve. The team is working flat out to understand the problems, fix them, and ensure we are giving both drivers the tools they need to maximise every weekend.”
Kimi Antonelli took victory in Spa, but George Russell fell behind again after a first-lap retirement
Wolff pinpoints ‘small details’ between success and failure in Budapest
The Hungarian Grand Prix will see Mercedes potentially at risk of a challenge from Ferrari and Red Bull, due to the slower profile of the circuit, that will, by default, not be as energy-hungry.
In Monaco, the last truly slow circuit, Antonelli narrowly took pole position ahead of Max Verstappen, and was forced to resist Hamilton in the race. In Spa, the Mercedes power unit’s superior battery helped Antonelli overcome Leclerc, despite losing out in the Virtual Safety Car situation earlier in the event.
Wolff is aware that the “small details” could make or break his drivers’ races, the final chance to cement some authority before F1’s month-long hiatus.
“Hungary presents a different challenge to the circuits we have raced at recently. Silverstone and Spa are more energy-limited tracks; Budapest is much more energy-rich, which changes some of the demands on the car and the way you approach the weekend,” he continued. “As always, the field is competitive, and small details will make the difference.
“Our objective is straightforward: execute a clean, reliable weekend, and score the points that the car is capable of achieving before we head into the summer break.”
READ MORE – Lando Norris intimates luck behind results in fresh criticism of F1 PUs
Discussion about this post