Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Wolff bites back amid F1 grilling
TOTO Wolff admitted it was a “fair question” whether he remained the right person to lead Mercedes – after Lewis Hamilton’s worst start to a season was confirmed at the Australian Grand Prix.
Carlos Sainz delivered the best drive of his career, just 16 days after surgery for appendicitis, to take advantage of Max Verstappen’s shock first retirement in two years to lead home a Ferrari one-two finish from Charles Leclerc.
However, over at Mercedes, Hamilton’s afternoon ended on the 17th lap when his engine expired as team-mate George Russell crashed out.
Hamilton, who qualified 11th, has taken just eight points from the opening three rounds. His previous worst start to a season had been in 2009 when he was disqualified at the first round before finishing sixth and seventh.
Before yesterday’s retirement, Hamilton had begun the year by crossing the line only seventh and ninth in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia respectively.
Mercedes carried Hamilton – who is heading to Ferrari next year – to six of his seven world championships, but the British driver has not won a race since the penultimate round of the 2021 campaign, which was 58 rounds ago.
Last year, Hamilton finished second in Melbourne, but Russell, who was the fastest Mercedes driver in Melbourne this weekend, was only seventh when he crashed out of the race.
Wolff, who has been team principal at Mercedes since 2013, was asked if he should remain in his role.
“As a corner of this business, I need to make sure my contribution is positive and creative so I would be the first one to say if somebody has a better idea, tell me, because I am invested to turn this team around as quickly as possible,” the 52-year-old replied.
“We have not swallowed a dumb pill since 2021. We don’t understand some of the behaviours of the car and in the past we would.
“I look at myself in the mirror every single day about everything I do and it is a fair question, but it (leaving) is not what I feel I should do at the moment.
“If you have any ideas as to who could turn this round, I would happily listen to that.
“The big difference is, this is my job and if you ask the manager question, I cannot go to Chelsea or Liverpool or over to Ferrari.
“I have not got that choice (as a co-owner of Mercedes), which is also unfortunate. I am not a contractor or an employee, who has said I have had enough of this. My hamster wheel keeps spinning and I cannot jump out.
“We always need to look at ourselves.
“I need to look at myself – and we are all humans. Data doesn’t take decisions, humans do.
“I would be lying if I said I feel positive and optimistic about the situation. You need to overcome the negative thoughts and say ‘we will turn it around’, but today it feels very, very, very brutal.”
Despite the brake failure on lap four which ended his bid for a record-equalling 10 straight wins, Verstappen still remains in charge of the championship with a fourpoint lead over Leclerc, ahead of the next round in Japan on April 7.