Mercedes F1 News: Toto Wolff on Miami Sprint Issues – 'Need to Change Direction'

Toto Wolff indicates a need for strategic changes in Mercedes' setup and tire management after a challenging Miami GP Sprint.

May 4, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Mercedes driver George Russell (63) during the F1 Sprint / Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

In a revealing reflection on the Miami GP Sprint, Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff expressed dissatisfaction with both car setup and strategy. 

For the Mercedes team, it was a race that cast a spotlight on the urgent modifications needed, as communicated by Team Principal Toto Wolff.

A significant concern brought to light during the sprint was the Mercedes cars’ underperformance on medium tyres, which Toto Wolff pointedly criticized. He commented to Sky Sports F1:

"I don’t think you can expect a lot in a Sprint race. There was not lots of overtaking. You can see a quick car on the straight like Ricciardo is able to hold back the train and end up where he started.

"I think the penalty for pit-lane speeding, these things can happen… these errors. In that respect I think the pace of the car was not so bad today, from the limited amount we were able to see there.

"Setup wise, clearly we need to change direction for quali.

"We weren’t working the mediums at all (in Sprint Qualifying). Literally zero grip, and then you get all the snaps and you have no performance anymore. It’s no excuse. We’ve seen it with other teams, McLaren in Q3 on the softs and suddenly going backwards. They remain a little bit of a trick, but it’s the same for everyone."

The team now has just a few couple of hours to get the set-up changed for Qualifying for the Grand Prix.

Miami GP Sprint Race Results

1. Max Verstappen
2. Charles Leclerc
3. Sergio Perez
4. Daniel Ricciardo
5. Carlos Sainz
6. Oscar Piastri
7. Nico Hulkenberg
8. Yuki Tsunoda
9. Pierre Gasly
10. Logan Sargeant
11. Zhou Guanyu
12. George Russell
13. Alex Albon
14. Valtteri Bottas
15. Esteban Ocon
16. Lewis Hamilton
17. Fernando Alonso
18. Kevin Magnussen
19. Lance Stroll - DNF
20. Lando Norris - DNF