Wolff reveals three factors that limited Mercedes' performance at the Red Bull Ring
On the back of a tough race weekend for the Brackley-based outfit, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has revealed three factors that contributed to the German-British squad's dip in performance at the Red Bull Ring.
Despite his promising pace on Friday, Andrea Kimi Antonelli started the Austrian Grand Prix from P9 on the grid. The Italian displayed strong performance in qualifying, but he was unable to complete his last push lap in Q3 due to yellow flags brought out for a spin of Pierre Gasly.
Although he hoped for better fortunes in the Spielberg race, his afternoon ended after just three corners. The Bologna-born driver locked up the rear brakes of his Mercedes into Turn 3, and was unable to decelerate enough to avoid the back of Max Verstappen’s RB21.
With both cars having suffered significant damage, both Antonelli and Verstappen were forced to retire from the Austrian Grand Prix.
His team-mate George Russell picked off his former team-mate Lewis Hamilton into Turn 1, but lost the place back quite quickly. The British driver was unable to challenge the McLarens and the Ferraris as his Mercedes struggled for race day on the hot day at the Red Bull Ring.
Reflecting on Mercedes' tough race at Spielberg, team boss Toto Wolff stated: "[It] was not how we wanted things to go. The mistake made by Kimi was unfortunate, but this is what racing is.
"We now need to analyse what happened to understand better why the tyres locked the way they did. It was a shame for Kimi, us as a team, and also for Max (Verstappen) too, but this is just part of racing sometimes.
"George meanwhile had a lonely race. He ultimately maximised the car we had today, but he was not threatened by those behind but neither had the pace to challenge the Ferraris or McLarens ahead."
Signing off with a word for Mercedes' difficulties at the Red Bull Ring, Wolff highlighted three factors that led to the German-British outfit's struggles at Spielberg.
"The limiting factors for us are a more abrasive asphalt, longer corners and high temperatures. That is what we faced today but the gap we saw today was too big to reduce it down to those three elements alone.
"We will look at all the data and find solutions. Fortunately, we get back racing straight away next weekend. We are more confident heading there as the lower temperatures should help us perform better and we have been competitive at Silverstone in recent years."
