Mercedes-Benz

TOTO WOLFF has admitted Lewis Hamilton’s slow start to the Formula One season is “no fun at all” for Mercedes. Hamilton miraculously grabbed a podium spot in Bahrain, but finished way down in tenth in Saudi Arabia after being knocked out in Q1 on Saturday.
Wolff has said Hamilton’s start to 2022 has been “no fun at all”Credit: Getty Images – Getty
It was the first time since 2017 the seven-time world champion hadn’t progressed past Q1, and was a sobering reminder of how far off Ferrari and Red Bull Wolff’s Mercedes team are.
After dominating the sport for so long, Wolff has labelled the start to the season as “an exercise in humility,” with Hamilton’s car severely lacking pace.
George Russell has impressed with P4 and P5 in the opening two races of the 2022 calendar, but it’s still not where Mercedes want to be.
Wolff told Sky Sports: “We were right in the middle of those fun games at the front for eight years.
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“It’s extremely painful to not be part of those games by quite a chunk of lap-time deficit. It’s no fun at all.
“It’s an exercise in humility and it’s going to make us stronger in the end, even though it’s not fun right now.”
Mercedes have won the Constructors’ title every year since 2014 – but radical changes to the cars for the 2022 season have seen them plummet down the grid.
New designs were introduced to make following easier, theoretically resulting in more overtakes and more exciting racing.
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And Wolff reckons F1 bosses have got exactly what they had hoped for so far.
He added: “They have achieved what they wanted to achieve. Spectacular racing, good overtaking, the grid has been shaken up – which is less fun for us – but it happens.
“The midfield is extremely close so overall, from the entertainment factor, I’m happy about the hype around Formula 1. I think then they achieved the target. You can only applaud for how that all came in.”

Two races into the 23-race season, Wolff is yet to discover the reason why Mercedes are languishing so far behind Ferrari and Red Bull.
Worryingly though for fans of the team, the Austrian admitted “there are deficits everywhere” when it comes to competing with the title rivals.
Wolf said: “We are not running the car where we are wanting to run it, therefore it’s very difficult to really assess what the lap time deficit is if we’re able to run the car lower.
“I would very much hope that the gap is much closer to what we’ve seen, but there are deficits everywhere.” More

GEORGE RUSSELL says Mercedes can kiss goodbye to their title hopes if they don’t resolve their problems quickly.The Silver Arrows are hampered by an aerodynamic problem called porpoising – when the car moves up and down as it strikes the ground at top speed.
George Russell has told Mercedes they need to solve their car’s problems quicklyCredit: Splash
Lewis Hamilton could only finish tenth in Saudi Arabia on SundayCredit: Rex
Mercedes have cured it by raising the ride-height of the car however, that has compromised their downforce and made them slower.
Russell was fifth in Jeddah at the weekend while his teammate, Lewis Hamilton, was only 10th, as Red Bull and Ferrari continue to look strong.
Russell said: “If we don’t manage to find some improvements there’s no way we’ll be in with a shot of fighting for the championship.
“I did my best to keep up with the Red Bulls but we’re a second behind them generally and we’ve got work to do.
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“Everybody knows what we need to improve on. We finished 30 seconds behind them after probably 30 laps behind the safety car.
“We’re continuing to learn, but we need to make some leaps and bounds and we’re struggling to find that silver bullet to resolve our issues.
“I’ve got no doubt when we do that we will find that chunk of lap time but as I’ve said before it’s easier said than done.
“We are going to start trying to develop the car around the issues but we need to solve the underlying problem which is the proposing.
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“All of these cars perform best at low ride height and we can’t get anywhere close to where our rivals are running.
“We’re doing everything we can back at base to try and emulate the issues we are seeing on track and I’m sure we can solve it.”
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says seeing his team struggle for points after eight consecutive constructor championships is “painful”.
He said: “We had the luxury of being right in the middle of those fun games at the front these past eight years.
“As an F1 stakeholder I’m benefitting from a great show but on the other side, it’s extremely painful to be not part of the fun games by quite a chunk of a deficit.

“We are not going to rest until we are back in the mix. It’s no fun at all. The exercise in humility will make us stronger in the end.
“The cars delivered on what F1 hoped for; great overtaking and providing a great show. I think it was entertaining to watch.
“F1 has achieved what they wanted to achieve, spectacular racing, good overtaking and the grid has been shaken up.
“The midfield is extremely close so overall I’m happy about the hype around F1. You can only applaud the changes.
“But we are not running the car where we wanted. I would hope the gap is closer than what we have seen, but there are deficits everywhere.”
Reigning champion Max Verstappen claimed victory in JeddahCredit: EPA More

AN F1 marshal who “hoped” Lewis Hamilton would suffer a fiery crash similar to Romain Grosjean has been forced to quit working at the Saudi Arabian GP.It is a staggering development which will only heighten tensions surrounding this race, which has been plunged into doubt by a missile attack on a nearby fuel depot.
Lewis Hamilton is in action in Jeddah this weekendCredit: Splash
Roman Grosjean was involved in a terrifying smash back in 2020Credit: Getty
Posting on Twitter as @Heem4U, he replied to an image of Hamilton and wrote in Arabic: “I hope he has an accident like Roman (sic) accident in Bahrain.”
Grosjean suffered a huge smash in 2020 in Bahrain where his Haas caught fire and was lucky to be pulled from the wreckage.
SunSport flagged the issue to the FIA and the organisers, who say the man “has been removed from his post”.
Images from the Twitter account showed videos of an AlphaTauri pitstop and a photo of the F1 trophies.
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F1.css-1gojmfd{margin-bottom:16px;}.css-gmec1d{display:-webkit-inline-box;display:-webkit-inline-flex;display:-ms-inline-flexbox;display:inline-flex;height:auto;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;-webkit-align-content:center;-ms-flex-line-pack:center;align-content:center;-webkit-box-flex-wrap:nowrap;-webkit-flex-wrap:nowrap;-ms-flex-wrap:nowrap;flex-wrap:nowrap;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;-webkit-box-pack:start;-ms-flex-pack:start;-webkit-justify-content:flex-start;justify-content:flex-start;margin-left:calc(-20px/2);margin-right:calc(-20px/2);}.css-fh9577{display:-webkit-inline-box;display:-webkit-inline-flex;display:-ms-inline-flexbox;display:inline-flex;margin-left:calc(20px/2);margin-right:calc(20px/2);}.css-65fvqt{max-width:302px;max-height:294px;}.css-h98a3b{box-sizing:border-box;overflow:hidden;background-color:rgba(236,245,247,1);-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;position:relative;display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-flex-direction:column;-ms-flex-direction:column;flex-direction:column;max-width:302px;max-height:294px;}.css-bk55po{box-sizing:border-box;display:block;position:relative;margin-bottom:0;}.css-1shocxe{box-sizing:border-box;}.css-1a2irou{box-sizing:border-box;padding:0;}.css-1a2irou 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.nk-headline-heading{color:rgba(71,30,121,1);}.css-1uyse24:before{content:”;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;left:0;overflow:hidden;position:absolute;z-index:1;}.css-xpuujo{border-width:0 1px 1px 1px;border-style:solid;border-color:rgba(149,199,208,1);padding:12px;max-height:104px;min-height:98px;}.css-tqcu81{padding:0;border-width:0 1px 1px 1px;border-style:solid;border-color:rgba(149,199,208,1);padding:12px;max-height:104px;min-height:98px;}.css-124tga5{overflow:hidden;-webkit-line-clamp:3;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;display:-webkit-box;word-wrap:break-word;line-height:1;}.css-5jzxpx{overflow:hidden;-webkit-line-clamp:3;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;display:-webkit-box;word-wrap:break-word;line-height:1;}.css-bq4915{margin:0;padding:0;color:rgba(34,97,108,1);text-transform:uppercase;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;font-family:The Sun;font-size:18px;line-height:1.333;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:0%;font-stretch:normal;display:inline;}.css-bq4915:hover:not(:disabled){-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}F1 SAUDI GP .css-8h3gc3{margin:0;padding:0;color:rgba(34,37,38,1);-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;font-family:The Sun;font-size:18px;line-height:1.333;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:0%;font-stretch:normal;display:inline;}.css-8h3gc3:hover:not(:disabled){-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix LIVE: Practice Three and Qualifying latest updates
In another message in Arabic outlining Hamilton’s desire to help change Saudi Arabia’s human rights, the same account replies: “The Saudi authorities do not respond to dogs.
“If a person saw him, they would have responded to him.”
He has since apologised to Hamilton and wrote again in Arabic on Twitter, and announced he was leaving the race.
He wrote: “I offer my apologies to the Saudi Motorsports and Motorcycle Federation.
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“And for driver Lewis Hamilton.
“On my previous tweet, I announced (sic) my withdrawal from the ring [race].”
This weekend’s event is still set to go ahead, despite yesterday’s terror attack just SIX miles from the Jeddah circuit. More

TOTO WOLFF has mocked world champion Max Verstappen and Red Bull team principal Christian Horner by insisting he would rather work “alone” than with them.The Mercedes boss locked horns with Red Bull last year during the two teams’ dramatic fight for the drivers’ championship.
Wolff has won seven drivers’ championships since joining Mercedes in 2013Credit: AFP
Horner clinched the world title with Verstappen last yearCredit: Getty
Verstappen ended up coming out on top after overtaking Lewis Hamilton on the final lap of the last race in Abu Dhabi.
And Wolff’s latest comments suggest that there is still no love lost between the rivals.
German newspaper Bild conducted a Q&A with Wolff in which one of the questions read: “Who would you rather have from Red Bull in your team: Verstappen as driver, team boss Christian Horner or head of motorsport Dr. Helmut Marko?”
 And Wolff simply replied: “I’d rather do it alone.”
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SPORT.css-1gojmfd{margin-bottom:16px;}.css-gmec1d{display:-webkit-inline-box;display:-webkit-inline-flex;display:-ms-inline-flexbox;display:inline-flex;height:auto;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;-webkit-align-content:center;-ms-flex-line-pack:center;align-content:center;-webkit-box-flex-wrap:nowrap;-webkit-flex-wrap:nowrap;-ms-flex-wrap:nowrap;flex-wrap:nowrap;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;-webkit-box-pack:start;-ms-flex-pack:start;-webkit-justify-content:flex-start;justify-content:flex-start;margin-left:calc(-20px/2);margin-right:calc(-20px/2);}.css-fh9577{display:-webkit-inline-box;display:-webkit-inline-flex;display:-ms-inline-flexbox;display:inline-flex;margin-left:calc(20px/2);margin-right:calc(20px/2);}.css-65fvqt{max-width:302px;max-height:294px;}.css-h98a3b{box-sizing:border-box;overflow:hidden;background-color:rgba(236,245,247,1);-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;position:relative;display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-flex-direction:column;-ms-flex-direction:column;flex-direction:column;max-width:302px;max-height:294px;}.css-bk55po{box-sizing:border-box;display:block;position:relative;margin-bottom:0;}.css-1shocxe{box-sizing:border-box;}.css-1a2irou{box-sizing:border-box;padding:0;}.css-1a2irou 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.nk-headline-heading{color:rgba(71,30,121,1);}.css-1uyse24:before{content:”;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;left:0;overflow:hidden;position:absolute;z-index:1;}.css-xpuujo{border-width:0 1px 1px 1px;border-style:solid;border-color:rgba(149,199,208,1);padding:12px;max-height:104px;min-height:98px;}.css-tqcu81{padding:0;border-width:0 1px 1px 1px;border-style:solid;border-color:rgba(149,199,208,1);padding:12px;max-height:104px;min-height:98px;}.css-124tga5{overflow:hidden;-webkit-line-clamp:3;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;display:-webkit-box;word-wrap:break-word;line-height:1;}.css-5jzxpx{overflow:hidden;-webkit-line-clamp:3;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;display:-webkit-box;word-wrap:break-word;line-height:1;}.css-bq4915{margin:0;padding:0;color:rgba(34,97,108,1);text-transform:uppercase;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;font-family:The Sun;font-size:18px;line-height:1.333;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:0%;font-stretch:normal;display:inline;}.css-bq4915:hover:not(:disabled){-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}NO DIFFERENT GEAR .css-8h3gc3{margin:0;padding:0;color:rgba(34,37,38,1);-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;font-family:The Sun;font-size:18px;line-height:1.333;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:0%;font-stretch:normal;display:inline;}.css-8h3gc3:hover:not(:disabled){-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}Hamilton ‘on equal playing field’ with Russell at Mercedes this F1 season
Wolff and Horner have had a long-standing rivalry since the Austrian arrived at Mercedes in 2013.
And in the latest series of Netflix’s Drive to Survive, Horner diminished Wolff’s achievements at the F1 giants.
He said: “What you have to remember about Toto is he has inherited something that is already well-oiled.
“He has not had to build anything. He operates the team in a much different way to me.”
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It was Mercedes who ended up getting the better of Red Bull in the opening weekend of the 2022 season in Bahrain.
Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez both looked set for podium finishes in the closing stages of the race before reliability issues saw them fail to finish.
This enabled Hamilton and Mercedes to pick up a surprise third place behind the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.
Hamilton’s new teammate George Russell finished fourth, with Mercedes hoping to build on that result in Saudi Arabia this weekend. More

LEWIS HAMILTON and George Russell are on an “equal playing field” this season and will have NO team orders by Mercedes.The 23-year-old Russell is now the teammate of F1’s most-successful driver and fellow Englishman Hamilton.
George Russell insists he is on an ‘equal playing field’ with Lewis Hamilton at MercedesCredit: Getty
However, the youngster is adamant that the legend will not get preferential treatment in races.
He told BBC: “We are on a level playing field.
“There are no team orders, we have equal treatment totally and they [Mercedes] trust us to go out there and race fairly.”
Discussing his relationship with the seven-time world champion ahead of this weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Russell said: “We have a very open relationship.
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SPORT.css-1gojmfd{margin-bottom:16px;}.css-gmec1d{display:-webkit-inline-box;display:-webkit-inline-flex;display:-ms-inline-flexbox;display:inline-flex;height:auto;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;-webkit-align-content:center;-ms-flex-line-pack:center;align-content:center;-webkit-box-flex-wrap:nowrap;-webkit-flex-wrap:nowrap;-ms-flex-wrap:nowrap;flex-wrap:nowrap;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;-webkit-box-pack:start;-ms-flex-pack:start;-webkit-justify-content:flex-start;justify-content:flex-start;margin-left:calc(-20px/2);margin-right:calc(-20px/2);}.css-fh9577{display:-webkit-inline-box;display:-webkit-inline-flex;display:-ms-inline-flexbox;display:inline-flex;margin-left:calc(20px/2);margin-right:calc(20px/2);}.css-65fvqt{max-width:302px;max-height:294px;}.css-h98a3b{box-sizing:border-box;overflow:hidden;background-color:rgba(236,245,247,1);-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;position:relative;display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-flex-direction:column;-ms-flex-direction:column;flex-direction:column;max-width:302px;max-height:294px;}.css-bk55po{box-sizing:border-box;display:block;position:relative;margin-bottom:0;}.css-1shocxe{box-sizing:border-box;}.css-1a2irou{box-sizing:border-box;padding:0;}.css-1a2irou 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.nk-headline-heading{color:rgba(71,30,121,1);}.css-1uyse24:before{content:”;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;left:0;overflow:hidden;position:absolute;z-index:1;}.css-xpuujo{border-width:0 1px 1px 1px;border-style:solid;border-color:rgba(149,199,208,1);padding:12px;max-height:104px;min-height:98px;}.css-tqcu81{padding:0;border-width:0 1px 1px 1px;border-style:solid;border-color:rgba(149,199,208,1);padding:12px;max-height:104px;min-height:98px;}.css-124tga5{overflow:hidden;-webkit-line-clamp:3;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;display:-webkit-box;word-wrap:break-word;line-height:1;}.css-5jzxpx{overflow:hidden;-webkit-line-clamp:3;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;display:-webkit-box;word-wrap:break-word;line-height:1;}.css-bq4915{margin:0;padding:0;color:rgba(34,97,108,1);text-transform:uppercase;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;font-family:The Sun;font-size:18px;line-height:1.333;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:0%;font-stretch:normal;display:inline;}.css-bq4915:hover:not(:disabled){-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}SAUDI SHOWDOWN .css-8h3gc3{margin:0;padding:0;color:rgba(34,37,38,1);-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;font-family:The Sun;font-size:18px;line-height:1.333;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:0%;font-stretch:normal;display:inline;}.css-8h3gc3:hover:not(:disabled){-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}Max and Lewis ready to rumble in Saudi’s Jeddah Showdown this weekend.
“I think because we are at very different stages of our careers there is a really strong mutual respect between us.
“We both recognise our fight isn’t with each other as it may be in some other teams.
“For us, we both want to win but at the moment we are not in a position to be able to win, so we need to work together and push in the same direction to make sure our car goes faster.”
Ferrari completed a one-two in the season-opening Bahrain GP with Charles Leclerc winning ahead of Carlos Sainz.
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World champ Max Verstappen and Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez both had to retire as Hamilton finished third and Russell fourth.
Despite knowing Mercedes are flagging behind their rivals currently, Russell is confident the team will be going full throttle again soon.
He added: “At the moment we know that if we do absolutely everything perfectly we still don’t have the pace in the car to fight with the Red Bull and Ferrari.
“We don’t really know what our timeline is.
“We are working as hard as possible to resolve our issues but the only way we find out if are going to resolve them is when we jump on the track.
“I trust in my team and if anyone can overcome these issues I am sure Mercedes can.” More

THE FIA are negotiating a new role for sacked race director Michael Masi because he remains an “important figure”.Masi was fired after his controversial handling of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as he was deemed to have failed to follow strict safety car rules.
Michael Masi could be given a new role in the FIA despite his Formula One sackingCredit: PA
The Australian made the decision to allow the five cars separating race leader Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen to unlap themselves behind a safety car heading towards the final laps.
That allowed Verstappen to overtake Hamilton on much fresher tyres and win his maiden Formula One world title.
Masi was dismissed soon after but FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem wants to him to stay.
Ben Sulayem said: “[We wanted] to take the pressure and the stress from him, because he really went through a lot.
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.nk-headline-heading{color:rgba(71,30,121,1);}.css-1uyse24:before{content:”;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;left:0;overflow:hidden;position:absolute;z-index:1;}.css-xpuujo{border-width:0 1px 1px 1px;border-style:solid;border-color:rgba(149,199,208,1);padding:12px;max-height:104px;min-height:98px;}.css-tqcu81{padding:0;border-width:0 1px 1px 1px;border-style:solid;border-color:rgba(149,199,208,1);padding:12px;max-height:104px;min-height:98px;}.css-124tga5{overflow:hidden;-webkit-line-clamp:3;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;display:-webkit-box;word-wrap:break-word;line-height:1;}.css-5jzxpx{overflow:hidden;-webkit-line-clamp:3;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;display:-webkit-box;word-wrap:break-word;line-height:1;}.css-bq4915{margin:0;padding:0;color:rgba(34,97,108,1);text-transform:uppercase;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;font-family:The Sun;font-size:18px;line-height:1.333;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:0%;font-stretch:normal;display:inline;}.css-bq4915:hover:not(:disabled){-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}TOT OF THE PUMPS .css-8h3gc3{margin:0;padding:0;color:rgba(34,37,38,1);-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;font-family:The Sun;font-size:18px;line-height:1.333;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:0%;font-stretch:normal;display:inline;}.css-8h3gc3:hover:not(:disabled){-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}Wolff reckons fuel prices will drop before Hamilton wins another F1 title
“We are grateful for the three years that he invested with us, and he put his time [in].
“But now we are negotiating with him of course to stay in the FIA.
“He is [an] important figure to us so our people are negotiating other, I would not say a job, but another place for him within the FIA.”
Mercedes star Hamilton wants to leave all that behind and focus on winning an eighth world title this season.
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The British legend said: “We cannot go back, unfortunately, and change the past so I just look at what I can do now.
“I wasn’t expecting an apology and it’s not something I’ve focused on. We know that’s the way it is and that was probably not going to happen.
“But at least there is that transparency, and it’s been called a human error and that’s a positive step.” More

MERCEDES team principal Toto Wolff reckons fuel prices will drop before Lewis Hamilton wins a record eighth F1 world title. In concerning comments about Mercedes’ current performance levels, Wolff hinted that it could be some time before Hamilton is crowned champion again.
Wolff thinks fuel prices will drop before him and Hamilton are celebrating againCredit: Reuters
Fuel prices in the UK were at record highs due to Russian’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, before fuel duty was cut earlier this week.
The Sun exclusively revealed last week that petrol prices had even soared to an average 182.77p per litre at some motorway service stations.
It’s the same case across the rest of the world, and Wolff was quizzed by German outlet BILD as to whether fuel prices in the country will fall before Hamilton lands an eighth crown.
But his answer didn’t give Mercedes or Hamilton fans much confidence going forwards, despite the Brits’ miracle podium finish in last weekend’s season opener .
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Wolff said: “Phew, hard to say. I don’t think the price of oil will change much in the future, but if OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) agrees to open production, things can happen quickly.
“That’s why I say: First, the price of fuel will go down again.”
F1 returns this weekend in Saudi Arabia – although Wolff isn’t holding out much hope for a successful race.
He doesn’t think Sunday’s GP in Jeddah will give any answers as to why Mercedes have struggled for power at the start of the 2022 campaign.
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The 50-year-old added: “We need to understand where we’re lacking in performance. The sooner we recognise this, the faster we will be.
“This is physics – and not mysticism. One issue that is definitely on our minds is speed on the long straights.
“But I don’t expect any enlightening insights from the second race in Saudi Arabia.” More