Lewis Hamilton got Mercedes a podium finish in Bahrain, but Toto Wolff admits that they have a lot to work on ahead of the Saudi Arabian GP.
Hamilton and George Russell’s Bahrain GP were quiet to say the least. The Mercedes cars didn’t match the Red Bull’ or Ferrari’s pace all weekend long, and they started the race with a ‘damage limitation’ mindset.
However, Red Bull’s late race misfortune played to the Silver Arrows’ advantage. Max Verstappen had to retire his car due to a fuel pump issue, and Sergio Perez spun on the very last lap after which he too retired (for the same reason as Verstappen’s).
Hamilton, who was right behind the Mexican, pounced on his opportunity, and took home an unexpected third place finish. Despite of their podium success, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff insists they have to work harder.
First race of ‘22 ✅ See you in Saudi, @GeorgeRussell63 👊 pic.twitter.com/0rUL9PcdwK
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) March 20, 2022
One of the main problems for the German team has been their porpoising problem. It’s been plaguing their performance for far too long, and Wolff wants to put and end to it ahead of the next race.
The W13 is also very slow on the straights. Neither Hamilton, nor Russell, were able to break into the top 14 on the speed trap.
Also read: FIA President Mohammed Bin Sulayem reveals Michael Masi got fired to remove pressure on him
Mercedes cars are probably over-winged, says Toto Wolff
The F1 season is now well and truly underway, and we’re just five days away from seeing the cars on track again. This time, they travel to the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Saudi Arabia, which is the fastest street-circuit on the calendar.
The fast nature of the track in Jeddah, means that Mercedes have to find a solution that improves their straight line speed.
“It’s easier to shed drag off the car,” Wolff said to Sky Sports. “Because you simply take a chainsaw and cut the rear wing to bits and so that is what we will be doing for Jeddah.”
Great start to the season. We gave it our all and ended up with the best result we could have. Well done to the Ferraris, great to see them share the podium. Big week of work ahead but I know we got this pic.twitter.com/p3HXaIR1XF
— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) March 20, 2022
“I think we were probably over-winged. We had too much drag and that is just because we are lacking parts at the moment and hopefully we can remedy that.”
“It is half or a little bit more maybe of the top speed advantage. But we need to really leave no stone unturned on the power unit side,” the Austrian concluded.
Also read: Lewis Hamilton praises Ferrari on their redemption win in Bahrain
