Is Wolff throwing in the towel? 'Probably not fighting for the title'

It takes some getting used to: for many years, Mercedes was the by far best team in Formula 1. Now that status is gone and the team is fighting for the title best-of-the-rest behind Red Bull and Ferrari. A new status, which seems to bring realism to Mercedes.

Even during qualifying in Melbourne, Mercedes never laid claim to a spot on the front row of the grid. With a fifth place, Lewis Hamilton did acceptably, considering the current state of the Mercedes car. In conversation with Sky Sports Germany team boss Toto Wolff states that his best driver is handling the current situation well.

According to Wolff, Hamilton is very positive and realizes that his team is in a rebuilding phase. "In the end, we probably won't be able to fight for the world title this year. But it's not his last year and we really have to see these race weekends now as tests to get the car ready to be fully there again next year."

Even if Wolff doesn't say it, Mercedes is going to come up with hefty updates in the coming weeks. The biggest concern is and will remain the reduction of porpoising, which the Mercedes seems to be suffering the most from out of all the teams.