“This feels horrible for the whole team”: Mercedes F1 boss addresses ‘much bigger issue’ in the Brazil F1 GP

Mercedes F1 Team Principal Toto Wolff mentioned that the 2023 Brazilian GP performance felt "horrible" for the whole team and he could not wait for the 2024 season any longer.

The German team could only score a measly four points from the main race in Sao Paolo courtesy of Lewis Hamilton's P8 finish on Sunday after George Russell's retirement. The British driver complained about the poor ride quality of the W14 and claimed it was not fun to drive the car.

Speaking with Autosport.com, the Mercedes team boss said that the Brazilian GP confirmed that the steps they have taken under the current regulations are right:

"I think more confirmed that the steps that we did are necessary. So at least we know it confirms that the trajectory of changing fundamentally is right. Last year, we came out of an Interlagos weekend, where you're absolutely demolishing your competition Saturday and Sunday, and that was like: are we doing the right thing by continuing with the chassis that we have?

“Now it is pretty clear. This feels horrible for the whole team. And I wish we could start the new season and concentrate on the new car.”

Mercedes team boss "clueless" after the Brazilian GP shocker

Toto Wolff stated that the team wasn't sure what went fundamentally wrong at the Sprint weekend in Brazil and the change they needed to make.

The Austrian said:

“We didn't know fundamentally where we would have changed it, because there is a much bigger issue. We thought about that [starting from the pitlane], but when thinking about maximizing points, it was probably right to start like this.”

The Mercedes team boss also provided a grim image of the 2024 season and added:

“For 13 years I've never felt optimistic or confident. It's maybe more my problem and my brain: the glass is always half empty. But what we know is that we're changing the car completely and we are an outlier compared to the last eight years, where we've been in the front, solid, and with the structure and people to perform at the front.

It will be fascinating to see if Mercedes can hold on to P2 in the championship. With two races remaining, they have an advantage of 20 points over Ferrari. They would hope to finish the best of the rest so that they go into the next season with some amount of confidence.