Mercedes started its 2023 with so many problems that they will change the whole car after the Bahrain Grand Prix. Neither Lewis Hamilton In george russell they were able to fight for the podium this weekend, finishing fifth and seventh.
And those questions coincide with Hamilton’s contract negotiation. Although no one in the Silver Arrows fears a scare. At least not It’s Wolfmaximum institution in the team.
At the end of Bahrain, Wolff was “calm” about it. “Lewis’ situation is what you’ve heard on the radio. He’s an integral part of the team, he lifts everyone up and we’re staying together, I don’t think that’s going to change.”
“We have won eight constructors’ championships and six pilots with him, and this relationship is maintained. It would be too easy to lose a driver and throw in the towel. We’re not going to do that, on the contrary, we just have to go further and further and provide both drivers with a car they can fight with.”
Wolff does not hide and recognizes that the the head gap is “too big” at the start of the season: “I am neither exaggerating nor underestimating. In fact, the gap is very large, and to catch up you have to take big steps, not the classics of adding a few points each week. .” .
“To have a steeper development curve, you have to make those decisions. Aston Morning He took it and they came back strong, and if we start from our base maybe we can come back strong and chase the Red Bulls, that’s the ambition.”
Hamilton has already suffered in 2022 from Mercedes’ poor planning, unable to ‘cough off’ Red Bull from Max Verstappen, double world champion. Another year of the same has raised alarms over Hamilton’s renewal, but at Mercedes, for now, they are quiet.