26/03/2024
NEWS STORY
Toto Wolff admits he will do whatever is needed in order to turn Mercedes fortunes around, even if it means stepping aside.
"It's tough to take, super tough," he told reporters at the end of a day which saw neither of his drivers reach the flag. "And I would be lying if I could say I feel positive about the situation and optimistic but you just need to overcome the nagging, negative thoughts and say, 'we will turn this around'.
"But today it feels very, very brutal," he added, admitting that the issues with the W15 are mystifying. "We've got to really dig deep," he said.
The Austrian subsequently admitted that as his team slips behind McLaren, and just one point ahead of Aston Martin, he can understand those who question his continued leadership of Mercedes.
"That was a disappointing race to end a difficult weekend. After taking a brave decision to start on the soft tyre, Lewis had made good progress initially but unfortunately his race came to an end shortly after.
"There were times in the race where we massively lacked pace and then there were times at the end when you compare like for like where we were doing okay, we're still, not where we want to be.
"Nobody feels positive about where we find ourselves right now, but we are focused on turning this around. It is tough to take but we will remain calm and composed. I also need to make sure that my contribution is positive. I would be the first one to say, 'If somebody has a better idea, tell me'.
"I'm interested in turning this team around as quickly as possible," he insisted. "And I'll happily give my input on what that would be, or who that could be. I look at myself in the mirror every single day about everything I do. If I believe that I should ask the manager question, or the trainer question, I think it's a fair question.
"It's not what I feel at the moment that I should do, but if you have any ideas about who could turn this around, I would happily listen to them. I would be lying if I said at any moment I felt positive about the situation, and optimistic.
"But you just need to overcome the negative thoughts and say, 'we will turn this around'. We started this season in the belief that this car was better than last year. Today it feels very, very brutal. At the moment, it's a very tough time.
"You look at last year and look at these guys, Leclerc crashed out and Sainz was fourth and got relegated to outside of the top ten because of a penalty, and now they're 40s ahead of us.
"We have seen others who have shown that when you get it right, things can turn around quickly," he added, clearly referring to McLaren last year. "That is what we are aiming to do. We have a physics problem, not a philosophical or organisational problem. "We haven't swallowed a dumb pill since 2021, we just don't understand some of the behaviours of the car that in the past we would have done.
"On one side, I want to punch myself on the nose. On the other side, it's a fact that when you get things right, you can turn it around pretty quickly and continue to believe."
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