The Mercedes comeback starts with trusting the process, says Toto Wolff

Formula One is in the middle of an unexpected break, thanks to the cancellation of the Chinese Grand Prix. But with the teams heading back to the track in Baku next week for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, there are expectations that the nine teams chasing Red Bull in the Constructors’ standings might be bringing some upgrades to the track.

Among those teams? Mercedes. After a tough start to the 2023 season in Bahrain — a weekend Team Principal Toto Wolff called one of their “worst” days in racing — the team has rebounded with two stronger performances. George Russell and Lewis Hamilton finished in P4 and P5 respectively in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix (with Russell momentarily in P3 as FIA unraveled a potential penalty for Fernando Alonso), and the duo qualified in P2 and P3 respectively for the Australian Grand Prix.

While Russell suffered a DNF after engine failure in Melbourne, Hamilton was able to hold off Alonso for P2 behind Max Verstappen, securing his first podium finish of the 2023 campaign.

Now Wolff and the rest of the team are eying Baku, and some potential upgrades to the W14, the team’s challenger for the 2023 season. Wolff sat down for a Q&A with Mercedes this week, highlighting what the team has accomplished so far this season, and what they expect to bring to Azerbaijan.

“It’s been difficult so far. With the way we developed the car, we were hopeful of sorting out our issues from last year. And we realised we weren’t coming out of the blocks where we expected to be. Having said that, we don’t feel any sense of entitlement,” said Wolff when describing the season to date. “This is the toughest competition in the world, and it wouldn’t be such a fantastic challenge, if it was easy. Three races into the season, I think we saw that one team is setting the benchmark now. In Australia though, we saw glimpses of performance in our car that encourages us for the next part of the season.”

Wolff also believes that the recent success of the team, coupled with the improvements they are bringing to Baku, are encouraging signs for the future. “In terms of car development, it is encouraging to see that within three races, we understand the car much better, we have defined a clear direction where we need to go and I believe we are on the right trajectory. We need to consolidate our understanding and hopefully over the next few races we can make another step,” said Wolff.

“It’s also important to keep on track and not oscillate too much between exuberance and depression; to stay rational and believe in our trajectory, believe in the capability of the team,” he added. “There will be setbacks but there will also be upgrades and plenty of work that will help us get closer to the front.”

Azerbaijan is just one of the many races that Wolff and the team are looking forward to as the F1 calendar picks up steam. Thanks to the cancelation of the Chinese Grand Prix the teams are enjoying an extended, albeit unexpected, break. But next weekend’s race kicks off a slate of races that includes four races in five weeks.

“Baku is a very different track. It’s high speed on the straights and it’s always an entertaining race. Miami’s track layout is also a unique challenge. Going back there is fantastic with lots of marketing and partnership activities. And then obviously Imola, where we will start the first triple-header of the season.” said the Mercedes boss.

Wolff added, “[w]e will consistently be bringing upgrades to the car over the next few races, which is something to look forward to. But there is no such thing as a magic bullet that transforms the car, and it’s about being realistic with your expectations. Hopefully we will see a steady improvement.”

However, upgrades to the W14 are not the only changes coming to the Brackley-based team. Mercedes also made some changes in leadership. As first reported by Motorsport, James Allison has returned to the role of technical director, 20 months have taking the role of the team’s chief technical officer. Mike Elliott, who was serving in the role of technical director, is becoming the team’s CTO.

According to Wolff, the move was spurred by Elliott himself, who felt that the technical director role was better suited for Allison’s skillset, than his own. “What Mike’s assessment was, and the introspection is really admirable, is that with James we have a gladiator on the field and the troops are going to go through the fire for him and with him,” Wolff told Motorsport.

“Mike came to the conclusion that the way he approaches things, his skill set, is best utilised in developing the organisation going forward: from technical capabilities to human capabilities and putting together the structure that can be successful for many years to come,” Wolff added. “It’s about creating a structure that can be sustainably successful going into the next generation.”

As for that steady improvement, what can fans of the Silver Arrows expect both in the short-term, and in the long-term? “We understand the knowledge that we need to recover. We need to have a steeper development curve than Red Bull and fundamentally, we want to compete for race wins,” said Wolff in his Q&A on the team’s website. “They are setting the benchmark now. We trust in the process and in the people, and there will be setbacks. But if the trajectory is up, that’s where we want to be heading.”