Formula 1

Mercedes’ Nightmare in Bahrain

Published

3 weeks ago

05/03/2023

Mercedes experienced a nightmare at the Bahrain Grand Prix as Red Bull dominated with a one-two finish, leaving team principal Toto Wolff to describe it as “one of the worst days in racing.”

Toto Wolff described Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix as a disastrous day for racing. The Mercedes team principal drew comparisons between Red Bull’s one-two finish and his own team’s past domination of Formula 1.

Both Mercedes drivers, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, finished in fifth and seventh place respectively, behind the two Red Bulls, Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin (with his teammate Lance Stroll beating Russell), and Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari. Hamilton was far behind Max Verstappen, who had a comfortable lead after taking the lead in the first half of the race.

Toto Wolff expressed his disappointment to Sky Sports F1 and called Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix one of the worst days in racing. The Mercedes team principal acknowledged the superior performance of Aston Martin and Red Bull, stating that they deserved their success.

However, he also admitted that Mercedes’ lack of pace was a reflection of their testing results. The huge gap between the Mercedes and Red Bull cars was a painful reminder of Mercedes’ previous dominance in Formula 1. Although Mercedes anticipated Red Bull’s strong performance, the extent of their lead was a bitter pill for Wolff to swallow.

Wolff commented that the huge gap between Red Bull and Mercedes was reminiscent of the team’s most successful years when they were a second ahead of their rivals. He acknowledged that this was the benchmark and that Mercedes would need to take gradual steps to catch up with Red Bull.

However, he also expressed his desire for more radical changes, stating that the team could not rely solely on the next planned upgrade, which was expected to yield only three-tenths of a second. This sentiment echoed his remarks from Saturday, when he admitted that Mercedes had made a mistake by sticking with their 2022 concept for this year.

Hamilton was visibly frustrated after the race as he acknowledged his poor performance, admitting that he was “miles away” from a podium finish based on his performance alone. He also acknowledged that he was lucky to benefit from Leclerc’s retirement, which prevented him from finishing in sixth place.

When asked if he was concerned about the lack of performance gain between 2022 and 2023, Hamilton replied that he was not “concerned,” but he recognized that the team was not where they needed to be. He acknowledged that the current car was difficult to drive and stated that he would continue to be a positive influence on the team and do his best to score points.

Russell commented that Mercedes had come back to reality after a disappointing race that did not meet their expectations. Despite exceeding their expectations in qualifying, Mercedes was unable to challenge Ferrari and Aston Martin in the race due to a lack of performance on the car.

Russell acknowledged that the team needed to go back to the drawing board and keep working to improve their performance. He also recognized that there was still a lot of work to be done, as everything was not where it needed to be during the race.

Mercedes’ Nightmare in Bahrain F1 2023 Mercedes’ Nightmare in Bahrain F1 2023 Mercedes’ Nightmare in Bahrain F1 2023