The Bahrain Grand Prix opener saw Mercedes’ George Russell fall back 46 seconds behind race winner Max Verstappen. His teammate, Lewis Hamilton, wasn’t having a party either and finished way below Russell. Overall, it was a weekend to forget to Silver Arrows, the team desperate to bounce back this year.
Interestingly, Mercedes Bahrain GP results came as a shocker to fans who witnessed encouraging signs during free practice sessions. The sudden drop in pace surely left the fans puzzled and curious. Meanwhile, team principal Toto Wolff shed light on the opening round disaster and recalled events that led to failure.
Toto Wolff Claims Bahrain GP Results Is A False Start For Mercedes
While George Russell started the Bahrain Grand Prix on the front row, he finished 46 seconds behind race leader Max Verstappen. During the race, Russell was asked to lift and coast, which led to a loss of 0.5 seconds pace per lap for Russell. Explaining the reasoning behind the team orders, team principal Toto Wolff admitted to a crucial misstep with the setup. He said the Bahrain track was relatively cooler this year. Thus, they chose to shut down a cooling shaft, which eventually led to an engine overheating problem. Thus, George was asked to lift and coast to avert serious problems. “It was a frustrating way to start the season but one we will learn from,” added Wolff.
Regardless of the Bahrain GP results, Toto Wolff believes in Mercedes’ ability to close the gap with Red Bull. He said what fans saw in Bahrain is far from what W15 is truly capable of. Had it not been for the setup miscue, they would have had the pace to beat Ferrari, to say the least. Regardless, with the Saudi Arabia GP approaching this week, Wolff considers it an opportunity to unleash W15’s true potential to the world. The Austrian added how feedback from the drivers on the car’s stability and balance has been positive. “We will be aiming for a more consistent weekend and to understand our true performance relative to the rest of the grid,” said Wolff ahead of the Saudi GP. That being said, the Silver Arrows still have a lot of ground to cover as Red Bull continues to fly at the front of the grid.
Lewis Hamilton Issues Damning Verdict On Red Bull Dominance
While Toto Wolff dreams of a turnaround, Lewis Hamilton has issued a discouraging verdict on the 2024 F1 season’s outcome. After the Bahrain GP shocker, the British driver said he expects Red Bull to win everything for a while in the sport. Their dominance is just unmatched at the moment. Regardless, the Mercedes driver isn’t giving up on the hopes just yet.
Lewis Hamilton believes Mercedes has a terrific platform to build on. After two bad seasons, the W15 finally feels like a racing car. If the team is able to introduce time upgrades, the machinery is surely capable of beating Ferrari, to say the least. But even to attain that, the engineers have a lot of ground to cover.
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