Mercedes’ expectations were not met during the first race weekend in Bahrain. The new car is not as competitive as expected, but Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff hopes for improvement in Saudi Arabia.
Mercedes finished more than fifty seconds behind race winner Max Verstappen, a gap that is much too big. After all, at Mercedes they had hoped that the W14 would close part of the gap, but the opposite was true.
However, according to Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff, there are some specific characteristics of the Bahrain International Circuit that have caused the big backlog and the difficulties Mercedes has experienced. Wolff hopes for improvement, but he does not expect miracles.
“The last time I dreamed of miracles was a very long time ago,” said Wolff. “The Sakhir circuit is very restrictive in terms of the rear of the car, it has very abrasive asphalt and that is probably the weakest point of our car.
“From that perspective, maybe things will be better in Saudi Arabia. I think we will definitely perform better on a different type of track.”