Mercedes "know where they are heading" but will not bring major upgrades until Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix in May; Toto Wolff warns "not to expect a miracle" - watch Australian GP Qualifying live on Sky Sports F1 at 6am on Saturday, with build-up from 5.15am
Friday 31 March 2023 09:44, UK
Toto Wolff says Mercedes will not bring any major upgrades to their cars before the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix in May, warning that there will be no dramatic upturn in performance during the intervening races.
After disappointing performances at the first two races of the 2023 season, Mercedes have admitted they are now pursuing an alternative design philosophy to the one they had persisted with after a challenging 2022 campaign.
Wolff told Sky Sports F1 earlier in March that he expects the W14 to look "very different" by the middle of the season and has now reiterated that no major changes are expected in Azerbaijan (April 30) or Miami (May 7), despite a four-week break following this weekend's Australian GP.
The Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix takes place at Imola on May 21.
"We are doing good steps, good developments but you have to run them, confirm them, produce them," Wolff told Sky Sports F1 in Melbourne on Friday. "So I think we are not looking for introduction before Imola. We want to do it right.
"We shouldn't expect a miracle. The next three races (including Australia) we won't be adding any performance. It's finding the best set-up solutions, tyre, in the right window."
Lewis Hamilton has recorded fifth-place finishes in the opening two races of the season in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, with team-mate George Russell seventh and fourth respectively, while Red Bull have dominated with one-twos at both Grands Prix.
Wolff said: "We had a bit of a moment where it became so much clearer after the Bahrain race. We were trying to make something work which we really weren't able to unlock and now the past is clear.
"It is not going to be easy, it is going to take time, but we know where we are heading."
Hamilton, though, lamented "changes that didn't work" after a second-place finish in first practice in Melbourne was followed by a result of 13th at Friday's rain-affected second session.
The Briton said: "This morning was good, this afternoon wasn't so good. The car is feeling pretty similar [to Bahrain and Saudi Arabia]. It felt a little bit better this morning.
"We made some changes, didn't work so, we'll revise those tonight. Then it rained, so it wasn't the greatest of sessions.
"We won't be competing against the Red Bulls, it will just be about seeing if we can get up as high as possible. I think we've got the pace to be around fifth, same as the last race."
Hamilton's Mercedes team-mate Russell rose from ninth in first practice to fourth in the second session and was encouraged by the apparent progress.
He said: "FP2 was a little bit frustrating for everybody with the weather coming in but it was a reasonable session for us. We definitely made a step from FP1, which is a good thing. FP1 I wasn't very happy with the car. FP2 I was pretty happy.
"We made a lot of set-up changes over the break and getting the car into a nice window as the weekend progresses.
"That is quite satisfying sat in the driver's seat, knowing the car feels better and as a team, we have contributed towards that."
Despite his optimism regarding set-up changes, Russell agreed with Hamilton's assessment that Mercedes would be competing for a place on the third row of the grid in Qualifying on Saturday.
"We need to see how that translates [in Qualifying]. If we really pull everything together, the third row, between P5 and P8, is where we are looking at the moment.
"We know we are not where we need to be as a team. We know we have more to come in a couple of races time.
"We just need to maximise our chances and try to have a similar weekend to Jeddah when we exceeded the potential of the car."
Wolff added: "I thought we looked okay on the tyre but obviously there wasn't real competitive cars out there. The grip level was good.
"We tried two different things on both cars. It worked on one, not on the other, so it was good direction that we got.
"The drivers got to do what they thought was right for the car. Everyone is pursuing the set-up directions and that changes between Friday and Saturday very often.
"Then you realise one set-up is maybe better than the other one. It's not like we are coming up with set-ups and they have to run these."
Watch the Australian Grand Prix live on Sky Sports F1 this weekend - Saturday's Qualifying and Sunday's race are both live at 6am. Get Sky Sports
