F1 News: Toto Wolff "Fed Up" With W14 As Mercedes Looks Ahead To 2024
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is frustrated with the team's unpredictable W14 F1 car after another upsetting performance in Abu Dhabi qualifying. As the season came to an end this weekend, he expressed relief that next year, the team will have a new car to compete with.
While George Russell topped the final practice on Saturday morning with flying colors, he was unable to translate the same kind of performance into qualifying as he secured P4- almost four-tenths slower than pole-sitter Max Verstappen.
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However, he did much better than teammate Lewis Hamilton, who failed to make it into Q3 for the second consecutive weekend after Las Vegas.
Despite Russell's strong performance and P3 finish in the race, Wolff voiced his frustration at having to provide explanations for the challenges faced by Hamilton's W14. The car, known for performing well in warm conditions but struggling in the cold, defied this trend on both Friday and Saturday.
Wolff told the media that he was glad that the season's end had arrived so Mercedes would no longer have to deal with the W14. He told Sky F1:
"FP3 was dominant. Norris could have probably been there, and would have in qualifying by the way.
"It just didn't come together. Probably that's what was in the car. Expectations were higher.
"I'm fed up with having explanations on why it didn't go well. We were good in the hot, we weren't in the cold. Previous days it has been the other way around.
"I'm happy this was the last qualifying of the season and we will come with a new car.”
On the other hand, Hamilton was confident that there was something wrong with his car despite following the same setup as Russell's W14. When asked about his qualifying struggles to Wolff, he added:
"Just no grip. Contrary to George, pretty much all day today."
