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Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff on driver safety: “It’s all fair that we’re fighting political battles to improve performance, but I think some of them are taking it too lightly when you look at driver health.”
Last updated: 06/18/22 22:31
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Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff gives Martin Brundle an honest interview about driver safety, Mercedes problems and Lewis Hamilton’s mindset.
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff insists driver safety is being “taken too lightly” amid the problems caused by porpoises in Formula 1 cars.
Earlier this week, the FIA announced new measures to tackle “porpoises” amid concerns over the safety of Formula One drivers, and it continued to be a major talking point in Montreal ahead of Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix .
Heavy car bouncing was an unexpected problem following the introduction of F1’s all-new design rules for 2022, with Mercedes being one of the teams hardest hit.
Lewis Hamilton has complained about the problem all season but with the bumpy Baku road circuit at last weekend’s Azerbaijan GP exacerbating the problem and leaving the seven-time world champion in severe post-race pain, the F1 board has taken action.
Despite the changes, Wolff admitted he was angered after a team principles meeting on Saturday morning, described as “fearless”, when the Mercedes boss spoke to other team bosses about the issues with drivers on the grid.
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Ted Kravitz takes a closer look at the issues Mercedes have been struggling with all season.
He said SkySports F1: “Yeah, sometimes you get upset… I think what we saw in Baku and here is that every rider from every team, including the front runners, said they suffered from the ups and downs. Perez said he had blurred vision.
“It’s all fair that we’re having political battles over performance gains, but I think some of them are taking it too lightly when you look at drivers’ health.”
When asked if he thought it was too dangerous to drive those cars, he added: “I think it was definitely too dangerous to drive those cars in Baku. Every single one suffered and you could see that the ground on the straight was quite dangerous. We saw it here yesterday too.”
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Wolff admits mistakes made by Mercedes
Mercedes struggles have been well documented so far this season.
They have finished just four third places this season – one for Hamilton and three for George Russell – while rivals Red Bull and Ferrari have won every race between them.
They currently lie third in the constructors’ standings, 118 points behind leaders Red Bull, and Wolff admitted in an interview SkySports F1 Martin Brundle that his team made mistakes but insists they know the direction to go in order to improve performance.
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff on the dazzling language he used to describe the car:
“I think I was just saying what we’re all thinking.
“Everyone on the team knows that together we haven’t worked well enough. I try to support the driver because you’re driving around in a dangerous car that’s not going fast.”
“I wanted to make sure we know it’s not because of the driver’s ability or disability, we’re not doing our job at the moment. He does it.”
“I think we understood, probably wrongly, in terms of what we expected in terms of mechanical grip and downforce, that our car is just too low for what you can realistically drive,” he said.
“It’s a direction we need to change, we’re doing that, but it’s very slow.
“I’m with you, it’s not what we expected of us or where we should be?”
On the improvements he added: “I think we know pretty well where we need to go. You can see that we drive flat on the ground on all the other cars, the others have more rake. So we have to evolve in a different way and that’s what’s happening.”
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff on agreeing with Lewis Hamilton’s suggestion that Mercedes must make the best of a bad job:
“At the track you just have to fine-tune and set up the product, but the product is made in the factory.
“That’s why everything we do here is just going in circles … we’re pacing. Very difficult for the drivers.
“Here on the track, on the field, we just have to do our best.”
“Disappointment in Abu Dhabi does not affect Hamilton’s performances”
As well as the team’s struggles, Hamilton’s struggles this season are also well documented.
The seven-time world champion missed out on an eighth title against Max Verstappen in the final round of last season and has only climbed the podium once this season after that disappointment.
And since his third place finish in Bahrain, he’s also finished behind his Mercedes team-mate George Russell in every race since.
He drives very mature. Quickly. I admire that I listen in the debrief and whether he is P3 or P12 he always uses the same tone and logic with a clear aim to optimize his performances.
Toto Wolff on George Russell’s performances
However, despite his poor results so far this season, Wolff believes last lap disappointment will not affect Hamilton on track this season.
“I think Abu Dhabi will certainly hurt a lot,” said Wolff. “I understand. I know how it feels for me, but I’ve never been in a car and I’ve lost a record eighth world championship.
“But I don’t think it affects his performance in the car. I think it’s probably something that’s in the back of your mind sometimes when you’re alone and you turn off the light that it annoys you.”
Coverage of the Canadian GP begins at 5:30pm BST on Sunday evening, with the lights out at 7:00pm.
F1 by Sky Sports‘s busy Sunday schedule…
Sunday June 19th
5:30 p.m.: Grand Prix Sunday: Canada
7:00 p.m.: THE CANADIAN GRAND PRIX
9 p.m.: The checkered flag: Canada
10pm: Ted’s notebook: Canada
11:00pm: Canadian Grand Prix highlights