Mercedes must ‘regroup’ ahead of Australian Grand Prix, say team bosses

Toto Wolff and Andrew Shovlin have spoken openly about Mercedes’ poor start to the 2022 season

Lewis Hamilton is unable to challenge for race wins with Mercedes down the order (AFP via Getty Images)

Mercedes’ trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin says the team needs to “regroup” ahead of the Australian Grand Prix next weekend, after a dreadful start to the 2022 season which has seen the team drop down the grid order.

The Brackley-based squad have won the constructors’ championship every season since 2014, but have started this year way off the pace of front-runners Ferrari and Red Bull, who look set to battle for both titles as things stand.

Having struggled with bouncing at high speeds and slow speeds through corners throughout pre-season testing, Mercedes have failed to find solutions to their problems at the opening two rounds of the season in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

Lewis Hamilton scored a fortuitous podium at the season opener after both Red Bull cars retired with engine failure, but could only qualify a lowly 16th for the following round at Jeddah, before recovering to tenth-place in the race,

Neither Hamilton nor team-mate George Russell will be able to challenge for the drivers’ title unless the team can resolve its aerodynamic problems, and Shovlin says the talent and experience of technical personnel will be crucial in improving the W13’s performance across the course of the campaign. For now, though, he believes the team must “regroup” before travelling to Australia.

“We need to go back and regroup ahead of Melbourne,” Shovlin said after the race in Jeddah.

“The circuit [in Saudi Arabia was] more difficult for us than Bahrain, and we’re under no illusions where we stand at the moment, but we need to remain focused and effective.

“We have an enormous challenge ahead of us, but over the last eight years the team has been able to get on top of every performance issue that we have faced. We’ve been able to do that because we have so many talented and dedicated people in the team.

“We certainly have our work cut out over the next weeks and months, but we are more determined than ever to get ourselves back fighting at the front.”

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, meanwhile, says the “sobering” situation cannot be remedied immediately and that the team must work together to find solutions.

“The overall picture is sobering, and it’s clear that we need to continue working hard if we wish to deliver a stronger performance in Melbourne,” the Austrian explained. “We operate together as a team, and I think we have deficits overall that are bigger than an engine deficit.”

Mercedes currently sit second in the constructors’ championship, thanks to Red Bull’s late collapse in Bahrain, with Hamilton fifth in the drivers’ standings and team-mate George Russell fourth.