“Mercedes’s new upgrade in Imola is not even worth expecting half a second.” Team Principal Toto Wolff is not only asking fans to expect less but warned his star driver Lewis Hamilton that his one last wish of a one-second upgrade might not get fulfilled in Imola later this month.
Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time world champion who once was the king of Formula One, is struggling today for one second per lap. The irony comes when even that one-second upgrade does not seem possible at the moment. The very much unpredictable weekend in Miami decided one thing for sure: do not expect the win for Mercedes anytime soon. The W14 behaved weirdly, from finishing one-two in the free practices to getting P6 & P13 in the qualifying session. Hamilton and George Russell ended the Miami Grand Prix at P6 and P4, respectively. The time is going so bad as of last that even this P6 seems good to Hamilton. “I am happy,” he said after the race. However, starting from P13 and ending on P6 is really not a bad score at all. It happened because somehow the W14 “came alive” after the mid tyres.
“The One Second Upgrade Is What I Want,” Said Lewis Hamilton, But Toto Wolff Warns Otherwise
Nevertheless, Lewis Hamilton suggests that if, in Imola, the car manages to cover up one second in each lap, then the huge gap of 33 seconds that George Russell had from Max Verstappen in Miami may get covered up. However, on the other hand, Toto Wolff is afraid that the upgrade is even worth half a second. The boss believes no such silver bullet is there which can suddenly improve the car. “I don’t think we will get there and suddenly find ourselves half a second faster,” claimed the Mercedes Team Principal.
However, earlier in an interview with Sky Sports, Lewis Hamilton asserted that “What I need is a one-second upgrade. But it’s still unknown if it will come with the upgrade or not.” Clearly, he was not too optimistic about the major upgrade of the W14 in Imola. But still, Hamilton was sure that the upgrade would lead Mercedes in the right direction.
Meanwhile, what Toto Wolff thinks of the upgrade is a bit too basic. He expects it to be the foundation and baseline from where Mercedes will start working more on the progress. Some of the issues, like the downforce, the rear suspension, and the floor, have been taken into consideration. But as these parts are getting replaced with a new concept, Wolff is unaware if a bad outcome will take place or if god will have mercy this time.
