06 April 2024 , 09:34
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Toto Wolff reminded Lewis Hamilton that qualifying on the fourth row for the Japanese Grand Prix is "not great" despite the Briton's positive outlook.
Hamilton was only seventh quickest in Saturday's session and more than half-a-second off the pace of Max Verstappen who took pole for the Suzuka race. Team-mate George Russell was even further away and only managed to secure the ninth grid slot.
The seven-time F1 champion sounded deflated over the radio as he questioned how the gap to the Red Bulls could be so large. But he had adopted a whole different mindset by the time he got out of his car and headed to the media pen.
He beamed throughout his Sky Sports interview and raised hopes that Mercedes might get on top of their car woes. He said: "I left it all out there, I was giving it everything. The team did a really great job this last week, understanding and making adjustments to our set-up.
"It's actually the first weekend I've not gone crazy with set-up and not tested a bunch of things, so a bit more normal. I think we got the car into a much nicer working window, so every lap has been more enjoyable to drive. The other guys are just a little bit faster. We were just over a second off the Red Bull last year and seven-tenths [this time] is better.
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"With something different we could have been another tenth faster, maybe, but other than that, that was everything. What it's given us is, I know exactly where the car is not strong enough. I can feel it in the car and I know now I'm able to tell them to push in a particular area. I'm hoping the race will be stronger and I've really enjoyed driving so far this weekend."
Be that as it may, team principal Wolff made it clear he was not pleased with the outcome of the session. In a Mercedes release after qualifying, the Austrian said: "The headline result of P7 and P9 is not great."
But he did end on a more optimistic note, adding: "The positive though is that we are not too far off the second row, just one tenth or so, at a track that was one of, if not the worst, last year.
"We seem to have taken a step in the right direction with the car this weekend. Everyone is pushing so hard to understand more about the W15 and how we can build on the platform we have. To see progress is therefore encouraging.
"It is difficult to predict what tomorrow’s race will look like. The pack behind Red Bull is very tight so we will see what we can do. The long run data from Friday and today's qualifying session shows that it could be close. We will look to maximise everything we do and the package we have to score the best result possible."