Wolff: Saudi Arabia was "reflection of where Mercedes currently stand"

Red Bull Racing and Ferrari are stealing the headlines at the start of the 2022 Formula 1 season. After winning the last eight constructors' championships, Mercedes have hit a bump in the road with the new rules and regulations. From George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, there's hope they'll be able to close the gap once a fundamental issue is solved, and team boss Toto Wolff knows what is needed. 

Harsh reality

In the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen engaged in a major duel. That event was just four months ago and now Hamilton is fighting for points whilst his Dutch rival has a new battle in Charles Leclerc. Toto Wolff sees the 2022 edition of a true reflection. 

"Today's race was the reflection of where we currently stand. The performance gaps seemed to be similar in qualifying and the race, and clearly, there is a lot of work for us to do in order to get into the fight at the front. The overall picture is sobering, and it's clear that we need to continue working hard if we wish to deliver a stronger performance in Melbourne," Wolff said in the press release.

Russell had a quiet race, but Hamilton fought back from P15 to score a point. Mercedes put the seven-time World Champion on hard tyres for a long stint in the hope a late safety car or red flag would provide a cheap pitstop. 

"George managed his race well and scored the maximum we could have hoped for today without any incidents ahead of him. For Lewis, it was always going to be a difficult afternoon from P15. The first Safety Car came too early to run to the end on Medium, so we stayed out like other cars that started on Hard; then we missed the opportunity to box just before the pit lane closed under the VSC, which cost us a couple of positions," Wolff concluded.