13 March 2024 , 10:05
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Toto Wolff says he remains calm about Mercedes' lack of progress towards winning Formula 1 races again because he has adopted a new mindset towards the situation.
Star driver Lewis Hamilton led the praise of the new W15 car after pre-season testing and everyone within the team seems to be much happier with their machine. But the reality is it has not yet put them any closer to returning to winning ways.
George Russell finished last weekend's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix sixth and 40 seconds behind race winner Max Verstappen. Hamilton was three places and another seven seconds further back.
And, speaking after the race, the seven-time world champion admitted the car is still a long way off where he wants it to be - even if he is enjoying driving it more. He said: " I wouldn't say I'm having fun. I'm racing for ninth, so I definitely can't say that. Finishing ninth is definitely not fun.
"But I am enjoying the actual racing part. And I was hunting and I was pushing as hard as I could, I was maximising everything I had with the car, I was right on the edge.
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"It was just unfortunately really lacking performance in the high-speed, where they were walking all over us. But there are positives. The car is good in low speed. We have to add a lot of load in the high-speed. I think if we were able to do that then I think it puts us in the fight. But we've got some work to do."
Mercedes are without a win since the 2022 Brazilian Grand Prix, while Hamilton's personal victory drought stretches back even further to the 2021 Jeddah race. And, based on its first two outings this season, it will likely be some time before the W15 is in a position to change that.
The team does not yet fully understand why their machine is struggling so much in those high-speed corners. But team principal Wolff insists he is not overly concerned and that he remains relaxed about his team's current situation.
He said: "I've changed my mindset. I don't think that additional pressure on all of us makes it better. I think we have a problem with the physics. It is not by lack of trying or by the mindset or the motivation or energies. All of that is there, and I can see the buzz in the organisation.
"As racers, when we have such [underwhelming] results, you're feeling down, but we're trying to change that with the right motivation for the week that comes. That's why we are believing that we can turn this around. We believe that our organisation can dig ourselves out. I'm 100 percent sure we can."