Toto Wolff has been reviewing how the current season panned out for his team. Mercedes has not been able to win a single race despite a few P2 finishes. However, no other team has managed to win a race than Red Bull. The Milton Keynes team won all races so far. They broke McLaren’s 1988 record for consecutive race wins. Red Bull has got the fastest car on the grid, RB19, thanks to their CTO, Adrian Newey, and the engine partner, Honda.
But Mercedes has not been that lucky as they have suffered miserably because of their car since last year. In 2022, it was the W13 car that messed up their whole campaign. However, this year the Mercedes boss mentioned the drivers are fighting to manage the drivability of the W14 car up to this point. Albeit, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff was in high praise of their third driver, Mick Schumacher, during his mid-season review.
Toto Wolff Highly Praises Mick Schumacher In His Mid-Season Review
The billionaire executive mentioned Mick Schumacher is a great guy. He has all the right values in place, adding to being a good racing driver. Moreover, he is the son of the great seven-time champion, Michael Schumacher. Since last December, Mick Schumacher has been part of the Mercedes family as their third and a possible replacement for Lewis Hamilton in the future. Clearly, Toto Wolff always had a soft spot for Mick Schumacher. He never hesitated to jump in to defend Mick even before he joined the team.
Moreover, Toto Wolff praised Mick for his contribution and exceptional qualities. The 24-year-old driver has been providing hands-on efforts. It has been pivotal in boosting the team’s said performance. Toto Wolff mentioned that Mick Schumacher provided excellent support to George Russell and Lewis Hamilton. Mick has been working overnight from Friday to the whole weekend, contributing significantly to enhancing the performance of the car. Moreover, Mercedes is desperately looking to pick up the pace to handle the threats of McLaren, Aston Martin, and Ferrari.
Mercedes’ Struggle With Car Continues Since Last Year
Last season Mercedes suffered due to porpoising issues that caused a lot of bouncing. The drivers sustained back and neck problems. Moreover, Lewis Hamilton suffered terrible bruises in the 2022 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. However, the team worked really hard to fix those issues. The W14 car this year did not have as much bouncing troubles as its predecessor. But it has not been fast enough. Moreover, the Mercedes car this year initially did not have side pods.
However, from the Monaco Grand Prix, Mercedes introduced new side pods along with front and floor suspensions. Later, they added a new front wing to help the car around the slow-speed corners. However, the Brackley team has not seen a victory this season, even after all these upgrades. In his mid-season review, Toto Wolff mentioned that both Mercedes drivers have been trying to cope with the ups and downs of the car since last year. The car still has problems with the rear end downforce. Moreover, the W14 car has reliability issues.
