Mercedes boss Toto Wolff quipped that his team’s consistent standing at the top of the times in FP1 in Formula 1 in 2024 earned it the title of “dirty track champions”.
Despite taking four victories during the past campaign, Mercedes recorded its lowest finish since 2012 as it slipped back to fourth in the Constructors’ Championship.
The German marque encountered an inconsistent season with a recalcitrant W15 car that seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton, in particular, struggled to gel with.
There were countless occasions across 2024 where Mercedes started a race weekend looking in competitive shape as it was on the leading pace in opening practice.
However, that nascent promise tended to dissipate once the track grip ramped up, prompting other sides to make a seismic step that Mercedes was unable to unlock.
“I think we are dirty track champions,” Wolff told media including Motorsport Week in Las Vegas, a race that the team would go on to win through George Russell.
“FP1 is always great and then the moment the grip kicks in, we’ve seen that the performances deteriorate.”
Wolff cautious on Mercedes hopes
Mercedes appeared to have cracked the current ground effect regulations when a raft of upgrades in Canada inspired it to three wins in four before the summer break.
However, the eight-time Constructors’ Champions endured more setbacks when it abandoned a revised floor in Belgium and had trouble with a new package in Austin.
But while Russell is adamant that Mercedes has since understood the issues that arose, Wolff has expressed a reluctance to provide the same optimism as the Briton.
“Yeah, but before the summer we also understood and it was clear that this is the route we need to embark [upon],” he explained.
“We’re putting updates on the car and again, it seemed that we’re taking the wrong junction and it’s super difficult to dial yourself out of it again and we’re not the only team that has happened to.
“But on the other side, you can’t go back to a Silverstone upgrade and put it on the car and expect to be in the front because since then everybody else has improved by a couple of tenths.
“So, yeah, the more you drive, the more you fail, the more you learn. But the competition doesn’t sleep.”
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