Mercedes' 'expectations for Monaco are lower' due to cars the 'size of an elephant’

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff says the Monaco GP wasn’t a team favourite in the past due to cars being bigger in size in recent years. He expects the team to still struggle a little this year, but remains optimistic about the learning opportunities the track will offer them.

Speaking ahead of the 2022 Monaco GP, he said:

“I wouldn’t say so because we were particularly off the pace in the slow corners in the last sector due to overheating [but] that might be different in Monaco. Monaco in the past hasn’t been our most happy place, maybe because the car had the size of an elephant. We still struggle with warm up a little bit, so my expectations for Monaco are lower than on any other circuit. I’m not sure I can explain scientifically why that is but it’s going to be another learning point at least to bring us back into the game.”

Wolff admitted that his expectations for the Monaco GP race weekend were low due to the tricky nature of the circuit. The Silver Arrows squad has always struggled on the street circuit in the past and the team principal claims that it could have been due to the larger cars.

While Wolff is hoping for a better Monaco GP this year, he thinks Mercedes could struggle with the car warm up and the slow speed corners.

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Mercedes is looking forward to capitalize on every opportunity at the Monaco GP

Toto Wolff believes that the unforgiving Circuit de Monaco could be challenging for Mercedes. The Austrian admitted that slow-speed corners were not the team's forte this season, which could be an issue in Monaco. However, he believes that the German team will be capitalizing on every opportunity available to maximize their results.

Speaking in a team preview ahead of the 2022 Monaco GP, he said:

“It's a unique and incredibly demanding track, with an intense level of focus required to complete each lap. Monaco hasn’t always been our happiest track, and slow-speed corners haven’t been our strength this season as we saw in Barcelona, but we’ve seen so far this year that anything can happen and we’ll be looking to maximise every opportunity.”

While George Russell revealed that most of their issues have been remedied, he said that the next race weekend is not a guarantee. Despite the reduced bouncing on the W13, Chief Strategist James Vowles has warned that it would be incorrect to assume that Mercedes has resolved its porpoising issues permanently.

The Silver Arrows team is currently third in the championship but has claimed that they are still capable of winning the 2022 championship.