Mercedes could've 'held on' to Max Verstappen had they started inside the top-six of the grid, claims Toto Wolff

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff believes his team have made considerable gains when compared to Red Bull and Ferrari. However, they still have work to do to be on the same level as them in 2022.

The Silver Arrows finished in P3 and P4 during the 2022 F1 Austrian GP to take home more points than the two front runners. However, their pace deficit against Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen was alarming to say the least.

The difference between Leclerc and Verstappen was 1.5 seconds. The difference between Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton was an excess of 41 seconds. George Russell was a further 15 seconds behind the seven-time world champion.

Wolff believes this gap could have been considerably smaller had the Mercedes cars started in the top six. Hamilton started the race in P8 and while Russell did start in P4, the 24-year-old's first-lap collision with Sergio Perez dropped him down the grid. The Briton was also handed a five-second penalty for the incident.

Speaking in an interview after the race at the Red Bull Ring, Wolff said:

“It’s just we’re missing a few things here and there. I think we’ve halved the gap over the last few months. We understand better, but that’s still third for us."

He continued:

"We are somewhere right in the middle of nowhere, but I would say if I tried to pick the positives in the race pace today, if we would have, which we didn’t, start right in the top six probably we could have held on to Max [Verstappen] and not be too far away.”

The 50-year-old went on to add:

“We’re lacking speed on the straight. I think we are much too draggy. Maybe much is too much, but we are draggy. Even more draggy on George’s car. The only rear wing left was a barn door that we put on there. But we are too draggy and we seem to be lacking power here."

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Mercedes underestimated the gap to Red Bull and Ferrari at the 2022 F1 Austrian GP weekend

George Russell feels Mercedes underestimated the gap between themselves and Red Bull and Ferrari after a dismal showing during the 2022 F1 Austrian GP Sprint race. The Briton looked strong during FP1 and the first two qualifying sessions before spinning out and crashing in Q3.

The pace difference between his Mercedes W13 and the frontrunners was evident during the 100km dash to the finish line. Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after his P4 finish in the sprint at the Red Bull Ring, the 24-year-old said:

"We didn’t expect to have the pace of Red Bull and Ferrari but we were probably a little bit further behind than we anticipated. I think Checo [Sergio Perez] is a realistic battle we can have but there is only a limited amount you can do overnight. You can’t change the set-up. You just have to learn about the tyres and what you did well and what you can improve on. It’s so difficult when you’ve only got one practice session.”

Russell went on to add:

“These Formula 1 cars are like spaceships. They are so complex and there are so many things you can change on the cars. If you are in the right window or not, it makes a huge difference.”

Mercedes now have their sights set on the Circuit Paul Ricard in France for the 12th round of the 2022 F1 season.