“I think we can close that gap this year”: Mercedes boss still hopeful of catching Red Bull this season despite the current deficit

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is confident about closing the gap to Red Bull this season. Wolff explained that the W14 has certain characteristics that are hindering its drivers from going faster.

Both Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell have previously complained about how undrivable the W14 is. With a tricky car to handle, both drivers lack the confidence to go flat out each time as the car might behave unexpectedly.

After the Azerbaijan GP, Wolff explained that they were running at a similar pace to their current rivals Ferrari and Red Bull. He claimed that solving the drivability issues will help the team set up a better platform for future upgrades.

He said:

"The pace in free air today looked similar between ourselves, the Ferraris and the Aston Martins. It was hard to tell who was ultimately quicker, though, because with the difficulty of overtaking – you are stuck when you are stuck."

He added:

"The Red Bulls, meanwhile, sailed away into the sunset on merit. If we can get the platform right, though, I think we can close that gap this year. It's not about adding points of downforce, more [about] giving the drivers a car that they have confidence in."

The Silver Arrows suffered from similar issues the previous year when their ill-fated W13 was undrivable in the early parts of the season. Hamilton and Russell had to deal with porpoising in the first few races before getting comfortable with the car as the issue was resolved.

Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes W14

It's a different issue that's affecting the drivability this year. Lewis Hamilton has been vocal about the issue, particularly about how close the cockpit is to the front wheels. The seven-time world champion explained that he was unable to feel the car due to the design choice.

Mercedes' long-term goals focus on making the car go quicker and match the mighty Red Bulls. Their short-term goal, though, will be to make the drivers feel confident in the cockpit.

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Wolff explains how Mercedes were affected due to the new Parc ferme rules for sprint weekend

F1 experimented with the new Sprint weekend format for the first time in Baku. With the changes, teams were required to put cars in parc ferme conditions after FP1 on Friday morning.

Toto Wolff said that they started the weekend on the wrong foot after choosing the wrong setup on Friday. The 51-year-old Mercedes team principal said:

"Very far away, I think we headed in a very sub-optimum setup decision. In FP1 we realised it was too late and the car went into parc ferme. It's the same for everybody. Everybody's rolling the dice, and then whoever got it right, got it right."