Mercedes boss says issues plaguing Hamilton\u2019s car may be there in Australian GP
\nNews Agency
\nMELBOURNE
\nLewis Hamilton\u2019s hopes of winning a third Australian Grand Prix were handed a reality check by Mercedes boss Toto Wolff Thursday, who warned there was \u201cno magic fix\u201d to the problems plaguing his car. The once-dominant Silver Arrows have fallen well short of Red Bull and Ferrari in the opening two races of the season following a series of design changes to comply with new regulations for the 2022 season.
\nA key problem has been porpoising — bouncing at high speed — and Mercedes have been working round the clock to remedy the issue at their British base since the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix two weeks ago. But while Mercedes, who have won the last eight constructors\u2019 world championships, are tipped to introduce a new rear wing in Melbourne, Wolff warned they still had a lot to do.
\n\u201cWe are in a learning race and the first two weekends have shown we still have plenty to learn,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cAt the moment, our track performance is not meeting our own expectations, but everyone at Brackley and Brixworth is focused on understanding the problems and finding the right solutions.
\n\u201cThere won\u2019t be a magic fix for the next race weekend, but we\u2019re pushing to steadily bring gains over the upcoming races, to hopefully move us closer to the front of the pack.
\n\u201cUntil then, we need to maximise each opportunity and make the most of the package we have.\u201d
\nAt the opener in Bahrain, seven-time world champion Hamilton finished third behind the Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, but only after Red Bull\u2019s Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez retired in the closing stages. Hamilton\u2019s teammate George Russell was fourth.
\nIn Saudi Arabia, Hamilton managed only 10th, while Russell fared a little better in fifth, but still considerably off the pace of the Ferraris and Red Bulls who filled the top four. Despite the frustrations, Wolff praised his drivers\u2019 patience.
\n\u201cThere are various challenges ahead of us, but that\u2019s something we relish and is when a team really shows its true spirit,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cLewis and George are making an important contribution to the overall effort, providing feedback, spending time in the simulator and working together to help push us forward.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Mercedes boss says issues plaguing Hamilton\u2019s car may be there in Australian GP News Agency MELBOURNE Lewis Hamilton\u2019s hopes of winning a third Australian Grand Prix were handed a reality check by Mercedes boss Toto Wolff Thursday, who warned there was \u201cno magic fix\u201d to the problems plaguing his car. The once-dominant Silver Arrows have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":253648,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-253638","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n