Toto Wolff vows to solve Mercedes’ problem that drove Lewis Hamilton crazy

Mercedes has faced many W14 problems this season, but Lewis Hamilton continues to perform well.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has vowed to address the cockpit position issues that Lewis Hamilton has complained about this season. He noted that the team needs to get back to basics if they want to compete with Red Bull in the future.

Thanks to Lewis Hamilton’s steady results, Mercedes goes into the final five races of the season with a 28-point advantage over rival Ferrari in the battle for P2 in the constructors’ championship, but still behind the defending champions. rival Red Bull with 331 points. .

Hamilton himself is also involved in the battle for P2, chasing Sergio Perez, who is ending the season in regret despite team-mate Max Verstappen running away with the world championship. The British legend scored points in every  race in 2023 before retiring in Qatar last Sunday.

In an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, Wolff said: “We have to go back to basics. I don’t want to hear Lewis say “My cockpit is too far forward” anymore. We know what we understand and  pay no attention to what we do not understand.

“The biggest problem is that the driver has no confidence in the car. We need to give them  solid foundations to score good scores. Currently there is only one man standing head and shoulders above.

“Ferrari, Aston Martin, McLaren and all of us are  in a similar situation. At least we are second in the constructors’ championship, because after all these years we have learned how to optimize our results. It’s just that no one comes close to Verstappen.”

Mercedes hopes that by breaking away from the design philosophy that inspired the W13 and  W14, they will solve some of the problems they created for themselves, such as the unfavorable cockpit position and the Pigs continuously appear. The W14 itself is not a bad car. Mercedes looked fast at times  in 2023 and were perhaps close to Red Bull’s pace  in Qatar before a first-lap collision between Hamilton and teammate George Russell jeopardized their race plans.

Unfortunately for Hamilton and Wolff, they now have to overcome not only Red Bull but also McLaren in 2024, as the Woking-based team has made huge strides since the summer and won two podiums. consecutive championships before the United States Grand Prix.