Surprised of Wolff's statements: 'Was he watching another Grand Prix?'

Mercedes are off to a poor start to the season. After the W13 and W14 flopped the past two seasons, the German team changed their approach with the W15. Without success, as only 34 points were collected in four races. Christian Danner sees it with sorrow.

The former Formula 1 driver states at Sport und Talk aus dem Hangar-7 that it is abundantly clear to see that things are not going the way they should at the German formation.

"Of course it is an unmitigated disaster that we are witnessing," Danner interjects. "It's not just about Hamilton's position of driving himself all over the place [doing everything possible] and just not getting ahead - it's also about the team. And with a team boss who doesn't know what to say anymore. He is irritated - but on the other hand he says 'we were quite good at Suzuka'."

Roles reversed for Mercedes and Ferrari

Wolff is keeping his spirits up, but Danner does not understand where the Austrian team boss's statements are coming from. "When I heard Toto after the race, I wondered if maybe he was watching another Grand Prix. You just have to face reality. Ferrari have moved forward and Mercedes are the Ferrari of the 2024 season."

By the latter, the 66-year-old German means that Mercedes is basing its strategy on a good bit of luck, because otherwise there is little to nothing in it anyway. So gambling on an early or just late safety car, for example. According to the former driver, this is what Ferrari often did last year.

Danner therefore does not understand why Mercedes chose to swap the softs for the hard tyres after the red flag in Japan and opt for a one-stop. "That was a desperate move and this is an example that shows how dismal things are."