Wolff knows Mercedes' position: "We shouldn't expect the miracle"

Mercedes had two confusing practice sessions today at the Australian Grand Prix, as both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell found success but also struggled, with Toto Wolff aware of the situation for his team.

"I think we looked okay on the tyre," Wolff explained to Sky Sports after FP2, "but there weren't any real competitive cars out there. The grip level was good, tried two different things on both cars, which worked on one but not the other, it's a good direction that we got."

Decision down to drivers

He continued and added that set-up plans need to be set alongside the drivers' beliefs, saying: "I think the drivers have to do what they believe is right on their car. Everyone is pursuing setup directions, and that changes from Friday to Saturday. Then you realise that one set-up was maybe better than the other, but it's not as if we are coming up with set-ups that they have to run."

Miracle not coming anytime soon for Mercedes

The British drivers both claimed a top 4 finish respectively, with Hamilton claiming second in FP1 and Russell claiming fourth in FP2, but it's still not enough to be competitive at the top, according to Wolff. However, it's something the team is aware of and is working on. He finished by saying: "We are doing good steps, but you have to run, confirm and produce. We are not looking for an introduction before Imola, we want to do it right. We shouldn't expect the miracle that suddenly we are on by half a second. More consolidating our place between Aston Martin, Ferrari and us. Next three races, we won't be adding any performance. It's about finding the best set-up solutions."