Mercedes suffered a double DNF at Sunday's Australian Grand Prix as Lewis Hamilton and George Russell both retired from the race; Mercedes boss Toto Wolff admitted after the race that the team's start to the season has been "super tough" and "very brutal"
Monday 25 March 2024 14:42, UK
Toto Wolff has admitted that it is "fair" to question his position as Mercedes team principal following the Silver Arrows' disappointing start to the 2024 Formula 1 season.
The team's campaign reached new depths at Sunday's Australian Grand Prix as Lewis Hamilton and George Russell both retired to leave Mercedes 71 points back from leaders Red Bull in the constructors' standings after the first three races of the season.
Mercedes, who have won just one race since new design regulations were introduced in 2022, came into 2024 optimistic that an overhaul of their car would enable them to challenge for victories this season.
Wolff oversaw a period of historic success as Mercedes won eight successive constructors' titles between 2014 and 2021, but on Sunday faced questions over whether he has considered his future as team principal.
"As a corner of this business, I need to be sure that my contribution is positive and creative," Wolff said.
"I would be the first one to say, if someone has a better idea, tell me, because I'm interested to turn this team around as quickly as possible. And I'll happily give my input and see what that would be or who that could be.
"We have a physics problem, not a philosophical or organisational problem. We haven't swallowed a dumb pill since 2021. It's just we don't understand some of the behaviours of the car, that in the past we would have always understood.
"I look myself in the mirror every single day about everything I do, and if I believe that I should ask the manager question or the trainer question, I think it's a fair question, but it's not what I feel at the moment that I should do."
Wolff is in a unique position among current F1 bosses in that he also holds a 33 per cent ownership stake in the team.
The 52-year-old Austrian says that this factor means that his situation cannot be talked about similarly to that of a manager of a football team, who might be sacked and then work for another club, or simply choose to move elsewhere.
He added: "The big difference is it's not like the manager question in terms of, this is my job, I'll stop the job and then somebody else is doing the job and I'll go to Chelsea or to Liverpool, or over to Ferrari.
"I haven't got that choice, which is also unfortunate. I'm not a contractor or employee that says, 'I've had enough of this'. My hamster wheel keeps spinning and I can't jump out."
Wolff also admitted that the team's continued struggles have left him wanting "to punch himself in the nose".
Seven-time world champion Hamilton, who is leaving Mercedes to join Ferrari at the end of the season, retired with an engine failure on lap 17 having only qualified 11th, while Russell crashed on the penultimate lap when chasing Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso for sixth.
"Tough to take, super tough," Wolff said. "I would be lying if I said at any moment I felt positive about the situation and optimistic.
"You just need to overcome the negative thoughts and say, 'we will turn this around'. Today it feels very, very brutal."
Despite the imperfections of last year's car, Mercedes beat Ferrari and McLaren to second in the constructors' standings behind Red Bull, but Wolff's squad now appear to have fallen significantly behind in the race to chase down Max Verstappen.
"We started this season in the belief that this car was better than last year," he said. "Then you look at last year [in Australia] where Leclerc crashed out and Sainz was fourth on the road, McLaren were 17th, 18th or 19th and now they are 40 seconds ahead of us.
"On one side, I want to punch myself on the nose. On the other side, it's a testimony that when you get things right, you can turn it around pretty quickly and continue to believe.
"At the moment, it's a very tough time."
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