Toto Wolff makes honest admission on quitting Mercedes role after miserable Australian GP

Lewis Hamilton’s worst-ever start to a Formula 1 season was confirmed at the Australian Grand Prix as Mercedes team-mate George Russell also failed to finish.

Toto Wolff, the head of Mercedes, indicated that it is a valid inquiry to question if he should continue in his role. This statement followed Lewis Hamilton’s confirmation of his worst season start at the Australian Grand Prix.

Carlos Sainz performed exceptionally well in the race just a little over two weeks post his surgery. He emerged as the winner for Ferrari, closely followed by his teammate Charles Leclerc. However, Mercedes faced difficulties as Lewis Hamilton’s car experienced a breakdown on lap 17 and George Russell, his teammate, crashed during the final lap.

Hamilton, who began the race in 11th position, has only accumulated eight points from the initial three races. The last instance of such a poor start for him was back in 2009. In the preceding races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, Hamilton finished in seventh and ninth place respectively.

Even though Mercedes played a crucial role in helping Hamilton secure six out of his seven world championships, he has not been able to clinch a victory since late 2021, a streak of 58 races.

Last year, Hamilton came second in Melbourne, but this time, Russell, who was the quickest Mercedes driver, crashed when he was in seventh place. Wolff, who has led Mercedes since 2013, was asked if he should keep his job following a disastrous race for the Brackley-based outfit.

The Austrian is still committed to addressing the team’s problems and is willing to consider suggestions, stating, “I need to ensure that my input is constructive and innovative in this field, so I am open to hearing if anyone has a better idea because my goal is to turn this team around as soon as possible.” He acknowledges that they are perplexed by the car’s performance, which was not an issue in the past:

“We have not suddenly become less intelligent since 2021. There are certain aspects of the car’s behavior that we are struggling to comprehend, which was not the case previously.” Wolff engages in self-reflection but is not currently contemplating stepping down from his position.

He examines his actions daily but does not believe leaving is necessary at this time.

He is open to hearing suggestions from others on how to improve the situation. If someone has ideas on how to change things for the better, he is willing to listen.