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Toto Wolff has been left confused by Mercedes’ performance at the Dutch Grand Prix.
Despite a scintillating run of form prior to the summer break, the German team had a disappointing weekend on their return to action.
After starting the race in P14, Lewis Hamilton recovered to eighth, whereas George Russell dropped three places from lights to finish in seventh.
What went wrong?
At the beginning of the season, it looked as though it would be another gloomy year for the Silver Arrows. After eight race weekends, they sat adrift in fourth place in the World Constructors’ Standings on a measly 96 points. However, the Woking-based outfit miraculously managed to turn around their poor form. In the final six rounds before the break, Mercedes picked up an impressive 170 points, a total that only bettered by McLaren in that time period.
A strong haul of points from the last six races ? We'll be giving it all we've got to keep the momentum going pic.twitter.com/q5A3Xog12V
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) August 1, 2024
Coming into the second half of the campaign, there were many reasons for the team to be optimistic. The return to action in the Netherlands did not exactly go to plan though.
After a promising showing in both free practice 1 and 2, it was widely expected that Mercedes were going to continue their hot streak into the final embers of the season. However, it did not turn out this way. After a frustrating qualifying performance, the German team were only able to recoup a ten point haul on the Sunday, meaning they lost ground to their nearest rivals in the standings. Their performance in Zandvoort may have just been a blip, but it has certainly raised concerns.
After the race, Mercedes’ boss Wolff voiced his bemusement at the team’s change in fortunes. Speaking to Sky Sports F1, Wolff said:
“That was really a totally off weekend, and very surprising.
“There is a lot we need to look at as you don’t finish first and second three weeks ago, and then seventh and eighth so far off the pace.
However, the Austrian Team Principal also emphasised how it will be important to learn from the weekend:
“So, there will be lots of head scratching, looking at data and come back stronger in Monza hopefully.”
Mercedes have failed to claim victory at the Italian Grand Prix in each of the previous five seasons.
Not all doom and gloom
Although it was a largely underwhelming weekend, Wolff did find time to highlight a few positives from Zandvoort. Following his admirable recovery drive, Hamilton received praise from his team principal:
“When you consider where [Hamilton] was coming from, that was certainly not bad.
“Whether it was the pace that we could have held onto a podium, probably not, I think the car was not good enough today.”
A mega drive to get back in the points, @LewisHamilton ?#F1 #DutchGP pic.twitter.com/MMIObCjCst
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 26, 2024
The 52-year-old went on to discuss how refreshing the battle at the grid’s summit has been as a result of Red Bull’s recent drop-off:
“It’s good, for the McLarens, the Ferraris and ourselves, we just have to ramp our game more up and fight them!”
With nine race weekends still remaining in 2024, there have been seven different race winners, the highest tally recorded for 12 years.
Feature Image Credit: (Photo by Gongora/NurPhoto via Getty Images)