Toto Wolff finds Mercedes situation unacceptable

Toto Wolff has described Mercedes’ current situation as totally unacceptable after crossing the finish line even further behind Red Bull and Ferrari in Saudi Arabia. Faced with the reality of having the third fastest car in the opening race in Bahrain, qualifying at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit became a nightmare for the eight-time consecutive Constructors’ Champion.

Lewis Hamilton was deeply embarrassed for failing Q1 at pure speed for the first time since 2009, as the four Red Bull and Ferrari drivers battled for pole position. In the end it was Sergio Perez who took his first pole after 215 attempts, while Ocon was best of the rest in fifth place with George Russell in sixth place in a Mercedes.

Mercedes team principal Wolff had told Sky Germany that it is ‘time to wake up now’. The W13 has many problems, especially in the area of ​​porpoising, bouncing on the straights. Wolff says he is disappointed with his team’s significant setback: “I always like competition. We had a very strong run of eight years leading the field but this time feels a bit like 2013 when we just weren’t up to the speed of the Red Bulls and probably the Ferraris too. We kept fighting and this is how I feel at the moment – we have to fight.”

“Our performance at the moment is absolutely unacceptable. We are the third team on the grid, and often we can’t even do that, like last weekend. It’s just not an option to stay where we are.”