Wolff sees Red Bull right on track: 'We don't have that'

Toto Wolff is pleased with George Russell and Lewis Hamilton' s second- and third-place finishes in Australian qualifying. The Mercedes team boss sees signs of progression, but the Austrian does not yet seem to be able to fully explain to Viaplay why it is possible that his drivers looked so good in qualifying.

Last year, Wolff also repeatedly said that after a positive outlier, he did not know how it could be that the W13 was suddenly so competitive. It was hard to find the answers to it, as the 2023 car is not much more competitive than its predecessor.

The 51-year-old top executive argues that Formula 1 is a data-driven sport. So: "So, we really need to comprehend where was the car good today.(...) We haven't been challenging the front guys anywhere near and it's the first time now that in quali we're looking a little bit better. So let's try to understand and then make a bigger step forward."

The progression is not due to any specific update and that in itself is obviously a good sign. Still, Wolff knows that getting the car to operate in the right window is hugely difficult. "I think you saw it with George when he had a mistake in his first run, he thought that would have been good for pole. So, you can still see that you need to have the car on a razors edge. It's not a car that is easy to drive. The red bull is just one turn on the steering wheel and it goes around the car on rails. We haven't got that."