"We own the problem and we need to fix it" - Mercedes says it needs to 'develop the car in a different window' for results like at the 2022 F1 Canadian GP

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff believes they need to develop the car differently to achieve results like the one at the 2022 F1 Canadian GP. The Austrian team principal feels their performance suffers because their car is running too close to the ground, to which they need to find a solution.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after the Montréal race, Wolff said:

“The way forward, I think we just need to develop the car in a different window that we had. We were having it really low on the ground and clearly that doesn’t function. So I think we have development direction. We didn’t get it right in many areas but we own the problem and we need to fix it.”

The Mercedes team principal feels their car is hampered by its low ride height in terms of performance and needs to be developed in a different direction to achieve results like the Canadian one.

Toto Wolff also joked about the new asphalt benefiting them, saying that they might as well diversify into the asphalt business and resurface some tracks as an investment. He said:

“First of all we are diversifying our business, we’re going to go into asphalt-laying business! We are gonna buy some machines, go to all the tracks, offer them a new layer of asphalt. It would be well-invested money.”

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Mercedes boss cautiously optimistic about upcoming race weekend

Toto Wolff feels it would be better to be cautiously optimistic about Mercedes' performance at the upcoming race in Silverstone despite a good result in Montréal. The Austrian believes they were confident in Spain and struggling with Monaco and Baku again, so overall they need to keep working to achieve more.

Summarising their race in Canada, Wolff said:

“You can see the hairpin is where they put new asphalt in there and we suffered less from the stiffness of the car, which is the main problem. But I would think before the Safety Car came out at the end, we were actually quicker than [Carlos] Sainz and [Max] Verstappen up ahead. But you’re picking out a few laps and you’re saying ‘yeah, we’re back’, so I don’t think that’s the case yet. We’ll just need to keep working.”

Speaking about the next round at Silverstone, the 50-year-old said:

“If we are able to run the car low, then we could be competitive. But you know after Barcelona we have been cheering that we are back in the championship fight and here we go so let’s see.”

While Mercedes showed some competitive race pace in the 2022 F1 Canadian GP, a lot of it was down to the new asphalt in some parts of the circuit and the accompanying tire strategies. With the 2022 F1 British GP up next, however, it is unclear where they would fare in comparison to the front runners on the grid.