"We're lacking pretty much everywhere" - Mercedes boss disappointed with gap to frontrunners at 2022 F1 Azerbaijan GP

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff was admittedly sad about the current pattern, where the team seems to be struggling a lot with the porpoising effect. At the Azerbaijan GP, the best time by a Mercedes was not even in the same ballpark as the frontrunners and that was a shocker for many fans. The W13 was more than a second slower and as it turns out, the two drivers had to fight for the P5 and P7 positions in qualifying.

Speaking to the media afterward, the Austrian seemed tired of the early season troubles for the team, saying:

“The gap is big. It’s a long lap time and we’re lacking pretty much everywhere. I wish I didn’t have to look at this kind of overlays in the future, any more.”

Wolff was very realistic about the team's prospects for the Azerbaijan GP and admitted that, in a straightforward race, a 5th and 6th place finish is the best one can hope for. He said:

“I think the most we expected today was to be third-quickest on the road, but Gasly put in a really strong lap to get between us. For tomorrow, if you look at it through rose-tinted glasses you can see hopefully the four of them ahead come together in turn 1 and then we can win the race. But I think on pure pace, it’s realistic to finish fifth and sixth. Strategy can play a big role, you can recover and make up positions if you are on the right strategy. We can gamble given the position we are in because when you’re the hunter it’s a different situation, so we’ll be looking at all options for the race.”

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Mercedes drivers to start in P5 and P7 for the 2022 F1 Azerbaijan GP

George Russell will start the 2022 F1 Azerbaijan GP in P5 while Lewis Hamilton will start in P7 for Mercedes. After the qualifying session, Russell told the media:

“The feeling inside the car is okay other than down the straights, every single bump is the most rigid I have ever felt from any race car before and I can barely see the braking zone. But through the corners the car feels good, so we know it’s not a balance thing or not getting the car in the right window with the set up - it’s more the downforce. We’re balancing a lot of limitations to try and get the downforce. We know there’s a lot there, but we just don’t know how to extract it.”

With the kind of performance that Mercedes has shown so far this weekend, the team can probably kiss the 2022 F1 title goodbye.