Mercedes, Wolff licks his wounds: “We had to deal with reality, in Austria with updates”

The not exactly positive moment for Mercedes F1 The sudden stop of Andrea Kimi Antonelli a few laps from the end of the Barcelona GP has turned Mercedes’ last weekend in F1 in a decidedly negative way. On the one hand, on a sporting level, the 25 points lost to the championship leader by Lewis Hamilton have brought a dangerous opponent back into play – at least on paper – in a fight that seemed to be entirely internal to the Brackley garage, with George Russell as the only other credible pretender to the World Championship throne. On the other hand, on a technical level, a new sudden blackout linked to the battery, after the one that occurred to Russell in Montreal and those that also stopped the McLarens, can only raise further concerns for the continuation of the championship. Click here to add Formula Passion as your favorite source on Google Discover: you will find our content more easily Toto Wolff between Barcelona and Spielberg All issues that Toto Wolff hopes to put behind him ahead of his home GP, at the Red Bull Ring. The Mercedes F1 team principal doesn’t hide behind a finger and admits, in view of the race in Austria, the difficulties suffered over the last weekend: “Barcelona represented a point of reference for our current performances and, after winning the first six races, it offered us an opportunity to come to terms with reality. The others have gained ground quickly and we have to react. We are fighting for both championships, but we have to improve if we want to be in the lead at the end of the season. Our Achilles’ heel so far has been reliability. We have lost a lot of points with both cars in the last few races and, if we don’t manage to have a smooth weekend, our rivals will gladly take advantage of it.” For the GP at the Red Bull Ring, however, there are some updates on the way that could give a boost to Antonelli and Russell’s W17s. “We are certainly not sitting idly by. This weekend we will bring some updates to Austria, focusing on improving both performance and reliability. The margins are tight and will be even more so in Spielberg, given the length of the lap. We need to put together a better weekend than the last few races, but if we manage to give our all, we know we can fight for victory”, concludes Mercedes F1 team principal, Toto Wolff.

Automobile Magazine – Formula1 English, News

2026-06-25 00:00:00