Wolff: “Throw car in a trash can” - Hamilton? “It doesn’t help to sulk”
Mercedes came away from Bahrain with fifth and seventh, over 50 seconds behind dominant race winner Max Verstappen.
As a result, Wolff has hinted that Mercedes may adopt a completely new car concept later in the season, while Lewis Hamilton has expressed his frustration.
Remarkably, Mercedes were behind Aston Martin in Bahrain - who run Mercedes’ power unit, rear suspension and use their wind tunnel.
Talking to ORF, Wolff revealed that simply changing their sidepod design isn’t a quick fix.
"We can throw our car in the trash can. One team [Red Bull] is miles ahead. They play with the competition - they don't even have tyre wear," he said.
"That could be done," Wolf explained when asked about Mercedes’ sidepods. "But you can't just merrily put sidepods on the car, it's all about the airflow.
"Our car is lean but not fast. Last year, our car got better and better and then won races. That's why we decided to stick with the concept.
"Then you start a new season and suddenly you see that nothing works."
Mercedes’ poor start to the year has attracted some vocal criticism from Hamilton, who is in the final year of his contract with the team.
Wolff described Hamilton as “a great team player”, but stated that “it doesn’t help to sulk a lot”.
“He’s a great team player and grown up enough to accept reality,” Wolff added.
“It doesn’t help to sulk a lot. We have to try to turn this thing around.”
Mercedes sit third in the F1 constructors’ championship going into next weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Jeddah, seven points behind Aston Martin.
With a sharp eye for F1’s controversies and storylines, Connor is the heartbeat of our unbiased reporting.
