Big Blow for Lewis Hamilton as Toto Wolff Publicly Declares Mercedes Out of Title Contention

The fact that Mercedes does not look as strong as Ferrari this year, is getting more and more noticeable around the F1 community. This was initially noticed when 7-time world champion Lewis Hamilton came in P7 behind his teammate George Russell at P5 in Bahrain. Ferrari on the other hand is showing a newfound quickness that was not as visible in 2023.

Instead of fighting Red Bull to regain the World Championship, Hamilton’s car finished behind a McLaren. This performance is surprising, to say the least, and Toto Wolff is noticing these crumbles in the team. However, he has not kept quiet in addressing the elephant in the room and has mentioned the teams that the Silver Arrow is competing against this year.

Mercedes’ real competition in 2024

Toto Wolff has been vocal about his thoughts on the season so far. Max Verstappen dominated the first race. Or as the Mercedes team principal said “We are galaxies away from Max.” With this, it is clear that Red Bull is no longer a target Mercedes can overcome at this point. After understanding where the team lies, Wolff said, “I don’t think we are in the fight, because Max is in a league of his own based on his race simulation pace. I would say, it’s Perez, the Ferrari’s then it’s very close between us, McLaren and Aston Martin.”

With Mercedes losing its place in the pecking order, it is Ferrari that is chasing Red Bull and Mercedes fighting McLaren and Aston Martin to maintain their lead. So far it looks like a difficult season for Toto Wolff and Lewis Hamilton, but George Russell on the other hand is doing surprisingly better than his world-champion counterpart. Although Lewis Hamilton will be making his move to Ferrari, it would not look good to finish the season behind Carlos Sainz Jr.

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Surely, Ferrari knows that Hamilton is not in his prime, but still wants to bring him into the team. There is still hope for Mercedes to push Ferrari behind as Carlos Sainz Jr will not be driving during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Sainz has been reported to need surgery for appendicitis and replacing him will be 18-year-old Oliver Bearman. Although the young driver has experience behind the wheel of an F1 car, its doubtful that he would do better than Sainz. This will cost Ferrari some points and give Mercedes a lead with Lewis Hamilton driving his final race with the team.

How will Mercedes improve their time in Saudi Arabian Grand Prix?

After the second free practice at the Jeddah street circuit, Toto Wolff spoke about the state of the team and shared the driver’s experience with everyone. “If you listen to the drivers, you hear that the car is not perfect. The car bounces and has problems with aerodynamic balance,” said the team principal.

He further explained why George Russell was so far ahead of Lewis Hamilton, and said, “We drove with two totally different set-ups and it turned out that with Lewis it doesn’t work at all. We are going to change that towards qualifying.” Although Toto Wolff’s game plan is to go with George Russell’s config, will it help Lewis Hamilton perform better is something we will have to wait and see.

There are many changes that the team will make to suit the Jeddah track better, and in those modifications, do you think Mercedes will be able to pull away from McLaren and pursue Ferrari and Red Bull? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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