Toto Wolff makes ‘tricky’ admission over upgraded Mercedes W14 car

Mark Scott
Toto Wolff watches on from the Mexican Grand Prix garage

Toto Wolff has overseen another difficult year for Mercedes.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has admitted that the W14 is still “tricky to master” even after continuous upgrades brought to the car this season.

The Silver Arrows introduced a significant floor update to the United States Grand Prix and produced a podium finish for Lewis Hamilton until the FIA found his car had exceeded plank wear measurements and was disqualified as a result.

Fast forward to Mexico and Hamilton was once again on the podium, with the result standing this time and helping the seven-time World Champion narrow the gap to just 20 points in the race with Sergio Perez for the P2 spot in the Drivers’ Championship.

Toto Wolff looks ahead to the Brazilian Grand Prix

But, despite the recent upsurge, Wolff has conceded that the W14 still has one major flaw and still retains what he would could ‘diva’ characteristics.

“We’ve got one last race in this triple header and it’s in Brazil,” Wolff said.

“We know we’ve taken a good step forward in recent races, but Mexico showed W14 can still prove tricky to master. We will look to arrive in Interlagos with a solid baseline to work with and we’ll see what we can do from there.

“Of course, we have fond memories from Brazil, especially the past two visits with Lewis’ spectacular win in 2021 and George’s first victory in 2022. The fans are super passionate about F1, and we always get such an enthusiastic reception from them. Hopefully our package will run well there, and we can put on a good show for everyone.”

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All focus on Ferrari

With Mercedes out of the title picture all season long again, the Silver Arrows are working on securing the next best thing which is P2 in the Constructors’ Championship.

With three rounds remaining, the gap between the two F1 juggernauts stands at just 22 points.

“We came away from Mexico with our advantage over Ferrari in the fight for second in the Constructors’ intact. That is an important battle for us and one we are focused on winning,” Wolff added.

“Leaving Mexico with a second-place finish, given the challenging start to the weekend and our grid positions, was positive. The car showed very good race pace however we know we’ve got more work to do to extract the maximum from the W14 across all three days.

“Lewis put in a very strong performance to score a podium and George gave it absolutely everything, even when his tyres had gone off at the end.”

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