Toto Wolff was perhaps the unhappiest team principal of the front-runners at the US GP. Mercedes struggled for pace at COTA, which is particularly concerning given the upgrades brought to the W15. According to Wolff, last weekend’s result is indicative of a wider downward trend.
Mercedes work to reverse W15 decline
Prior to the summer break, Mercedes had more momentum than any other team. They secured victories in Austria, Silverstone and Hungary – having narrowly missed out in Canada.
The team’s mid-season updates managed to improve the W15’s downforce levels without generating unwanted side-effects (i.e bouncing) that had impacted rivals, such as Ferrari.
However, these positives seem to have evaporated over recent weeks. Not only have other teams taken significant steps forward, but the latest components from Mercedes have failed to deliver.
Wolff calls for a response
Toto Wolff has analysed the situation at the Brackley-based squad.
“It’s not good. But you can see how quickly you can recover and things go the other way,” Wolff told Sky Germany.
“We were the fastest team before the summer break and then we lost ourselves, and at Ferrari it’s the exact opposite.
“It’s one of the worst weekends for me,” admitted the Mercedes team principal.
“We were the fastest on Friday and then we lost everything yesterday. It was a sporting low point, but it makes us and me stronger.
“I woke up this morning and we’re only looking forward. We have to pull ourselves together and get a lot better.”
One of the biggest concern to re-emerge for Mercedes is inconsistency in performance.
At the beginning of the season, the W15 was often competitive in Free Practice and even in qualifying – only to fall back compared to other teams on race day.
Both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were critical of this tendency in the early rounds. During the European leg of the season, this problem was largely – albeit not completely – eliminated.
However, the last few Grand Prix have seen the W15 show this undesirable trait once again. For the sake of finishing the year strongly, in addition to establishing a good foundation for their 2025 package, Mercedes must find a solution.
