‘One of my worst days in racing’: Mercedes boss Toto Wolff despondent after Bahrain GP

Mercedes were no match for Red Bull or the rejuvenated Aston Martin at the season-opening race

Toto Wolff revealed the Bahrain Grand Prix was “one of his worst days in racing” as he insists Mercedes need “radical” change to their car.

As Red Bull dominated with Max Verstappen leading home a comfortable one-two finish, Mercedes were woefully short of pace – losing around a second-a-lap to the Red Bulls.

While Lewis Hamilton made up places early on, the seven-time world champion couldn’t hold off Fernando Alonso’s roaring Aston Martin and could only manage fifth in the end.

George Russell finished behind the other Aston Martin – Lance Stroll – to come home seventh and despite showing slight improvements over the weekend from a tricky testing period, it marks a difficult start to the season for the Silver Arrows.

And Wolff was particularly despondent after the racing, telling Sky Sports: “One of my worst days in racing, lacking pace left right and centre.

“Aston Martin have the pace, they deserve it, the Red Bulls are on a different planet. They’re so far ahead it hurts, it reminds me of our years when we were a second a lap ahead of everyone else.”

The dominant team in Formula 1 for eight straight years, their unique ‘no-sidepod’ design last year saw them slip down the pecking order; an approach they have persevered with at the start of 2023.

Yet Wolff revealed on Saturday night after a poor qualifying performance that Mercedes will have to change course if they want to challenge for the World Championship.

Toto Wolff revealed the Bahrain Grand Prix was “one of his worst days in racing” (Getty Images)

Asked if it’s a case of waiting for an anticipated upgrade at race six in Imola, Wolff rebuked and hinted his team may take a leaf out of Aston Martin’s book.

“No I think it needs to be much more radical than just hope for an upgrade,” he said.

“I think it’s just radical - Aston deserve to be where they are, they did a fantastic job. There’s a lot of Mercedes in there, we know where to pinpoint it and that’ll be helpful for the recovery.”

How quickly Mercedes can alter their approach, perhaps building a different design altogether, remains to be seen but in an era of a cost-cap of £111m, it won’t be a straightforward fix for Wolff and his team.

Hamilton, after the chequered flag, launched a rallying cry to his team, insisting “we’ve got some serious work to do to close the gap but let’s go for it.”

After a one-week break, F1 returns to the Middle East for round two of the 2023 season with the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.