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In what should be signs of optimism for Lewis Hamilton fans, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has claimed that the 2024 F1 challenger has shown positive signs. The German team has seen a major slump in form over the last two seasons. Mercedes won eight consecutive titles from 2014 to 2021, with the 2022 season seeing a change in regulations.
The regulations change saw the introduction of the ground effect era. The era has seen Mercedes struggle to adapt to the requirements. As a result, the car has just not been competitive. The team has won just a single race in the last two seasons and has been nowhere close to competing for wins and the title regularly.
Hamilton has himself seen a decline in his results. A driver, who won a race for 15 consecutive years, has not won a race in the last two seasons. For the Brit and his fans, Wolff might have great news as he provided some positive feedback from simulator driver Anthony Davidson.
In conversation with the Telegraph, Wolff stated that Davidson claimed that the challenger felt like a car for the first time in two seasons.
“He was driving Melbourne [in the sim]. And he said: ‘The car feels like a car for the first time in two years… Obviously I would love this to correlate to the track, but we’ve seen in the last two years that this was not always the case," Wolff said.
Toto Wolff signs a three-year extension with Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton's boss Toto Wolff has signed a three-year extension with Mercedes and will continue to be a part of the team. On the eve of announcing his extension, Wolff divulged the thought process in making the decision.
Referring to INEOS boss Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Mercedes chairman Ola Källenius, he said:
“I think the most important thing between the three of us is that we trust each other. At the end of the day, as a shareholder myself, I want the best return on investment. And the best return on investment is winning."
“I’m not going to try to hang on to a position that I think somebody is going to do better than me. I make sure that I have people around who can tell me otherwise. In the end the three of us decided: ‘Let’s do it again,’” Wolff added.
Mercedes will be hoping to challenge Red Bull and Max Verstappen this season after two disappointing years.
