The regulations change in 2022 left Mercedes striving to cope with the porpoising issue. By the time they got rid of the problem, Red Bull was so far ahead that it was impossible for the Silver Arrows to catch them. However, they vowed to come back stronger the next year, believing they could challenge their rivals for the top spot once again. As we saw yesterday in the season opener in Bahrain, Mercedes could not have been more wrong in their assessment. Not only were they no match to Red Bull, but they were also slower than surprise challenger Aston Martin. The whole experience left a bad taste in the mouth of their boss, Toto Wolff, who dubbed the race as one of the worst days in his racing career.

Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez started the race from the front, with the Dutchman leading. The reigning champion got a great start and maintained it until the very end, giving next to no chance to the rivals to catch him. Perez, despite having an abysmal start, fought his own battles and delivered the 1-2 result for the team.

Speaking with Sky Sports after the race, Wolff said, “It was one of the worst days in my racing career. We lack speed in every area. Aston Martin is fast and they deserve it. Red Bull is like from a different planet. That’s what hurts, they’re so ahead.” [Translated using Google]

“Red Bull’s performance reminds me of our best years, when we were one second ahead of everyone else. We have to get back to the top step by step, we can do that. Of course we can do that.”

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Despite sharing a fierce rivalry, it was refreshing to see Wolff praising the Austrian team.

Aston Martin’s rise gives Toto Wolff & Co. a big hint on where to improve

The biggest surprise in the first race came in the form of Aston Martin and their podium finish, courtesy of Fernando Alonso. While the Spaniard finished ahead of Lewis Hamilton, Lance Stroll beat George Russell to P6. That is despite the fact that Mercedes supply them with their power units. Toto feels that could act as a way for his team to figure out where to improve.

He told, “Aston Martin deserves to be where he is because they did a fantastic job. That’s good news for us because a lot of the parts inside their car are from Mercedes. So we know where to pinpoint to get back.”

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It would be interesting to see how long it takes for the engineers sitting in Brackley to deliver a car that can challenge Red Bull once again. Otherwise, they could be in for another long season ahead.