Mercedes boss confesses 2024 title challenge remains an 'illusion'

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has conceded that the team are not close to competing with Red Bull.

The Brackley-based team have struggled to perform in the ground-effect era, with George Russell claiming their only win since 2022 at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

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Wolff has remained optimistic about the performance of their machinery and is hoping to build upon their second-place finish last season.

But 2024 has brought about more woes for the team, with the Australian Grand Prix being a miserable weekend for the team.

Wolff: It's an illusion for us to challenge Red Bull

Lewis Hamilton was eliminated in Q2 in Melbourne while Russell could only manage seventh.

In the race, an engine failure forced Hamilton to retire on lap 17, while his team-mate crashed on the final lap in a double retirement for the team.

Speaking with Ted Kravitz after qualifying, Wolff insisted that the team are trying to resolve their issues, but admitted that their performance is ‘not good enough.’

“Especially underwhelming because we were within a tenth in FP3,” he said. “The conditions were a little bit different but there is no excuse.

“I think we have a car that’s difficult and you can be narrowly in and out of the window and, as much as I’m annoyed myself, you know, of saying this for a long time, we just need to continue working on it and try to get better.

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“It’s not because of a lack of trying that we are where we are, but it’s not good enough.”

The Austrian is still holding onto belief that Mercedes can get the best out of the W15, but said that they are not close to competing with Red Bull.

“I think it’s an illusion to go closer to Red Bull in the short term, but I still have to believe that there is more in this car,” he added.

“But it’s so tricky, like I said, to be in and out of the performance window and we’ve just got to continue to work on it.”

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