Mercedes saw 'one of the worst days in racing' at 2023 F1 Bahrain GP, feels Toto Wolff

Toto Wolff was dejected with how Mercedes performed in the 2023 F1 Bahrain GP. Since the Silver Arrows were planning to bounce back from last year and fight for wins and podiums, finding themselves in fifth and seventh position was quite woeful.

Speaking to Sky Sports, the Mercedes team boss explained how the Bahrain GP was one of the worst races for the team. Wolff explained how the W14 lacked pace almost everywhere, which is exactly what they witnessed during the pre-season testing. He said:

"One of the worst days in racing. Really not good at all, we were just lacking pace front, right, and centre. That is a reflection of the tests."

Wolff went on to mention how Aston Martin was quite fast and deserved to be on the podium. He also admitted that Red Bull is on another level and that their dominance reminded him of Mercedes' dominance prior to 2021. The Austrian said:

"The Aston Martin is very fast, they deserve that. Red Bull is just on a different planet. That is what hurts because they are so far ahead, it reminds me of our best years because we just put a second on everybody else. That is the benchmark and we have to do one step after the other to come back and we can do that."

It is safe to say that Mercedes will need to take massive leaps throughout the season to come close to Red Bull and fight them. However, both the drivers and Toto Wolff himself do not look too optimistic about the 2023 F1 season.

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Mercedes team boss aims to make 'right precise decisions' to move forward

Ahead of the 2023 F1 Bahrain GP, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff spoke to Sportskeeda about testing sessions, rival teams, and how his team needs to make the right decisions to move up the grid.

When asked about the process of improving the W14's concept, Wolff said:

“Yes definitely, testing was not clean, we had big oscillations in performance. We did not understand it. I think we had unlocked some potential yesterday that we’ve seen today. The gaps are not huge. But because the top cars are so close to each other, between three to four teams. Aston Martin now stands up and down but that can change a lot."

He concluded:

"Definitely every day counts, losing these days, it will be difficult to catch up and therefore, we need to take the right precise decisions now in order to set the sails in the right direction.”

Though Wolff predicted that the gap between the top teams would not be massive, Red Bull debunked the theory by dominating the race and easily finishing 1-2 on the podium. George Russell finished seventh while Lewis Hamilton managed to end up in fifth.