Toto Wolff reveals Mercedes’ bouncing F1 2022 car was ‘breaking’ engine
Mercedes suffered their worst F1 season since 2013 as they slipped to the third-fastest team behi🌳nd rivals Red Bull and Ferrari and found themselves out of title contention at the start of a new cycle of aerodynamic regulations.
Much of the early part of the season was spent trying to get to the bottom of the 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:porpoising phenomenon that plagued the performance of the W13 and gave 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Lewis Hamilton and 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:George Russell an uncomfortable ride.
Speaking to engine chief Hyw💞el Thomas in an, Wolff said: “We came out at the beginning of the season with some wobbles on the po🐓wer unit as well.
"We didn't like certain aspects of the deployment or the drivability of the💟 Power Unit.
"And whilst in a frozen ♚environment you and your team were able to really add on performance, cope with the difficult environment of a bouncing car that was breaking your eng♏ine and still we were super reliable, and the engine was performing very well towards the middle of the season and the end.”
Explaining the problems caused by bouncing on the power unit side, Thomas said: “It was becoming ver🌊y clear that the bottom of the engines were taking a h🍰ell of a pounding.
"I think when you came up to Brixworth last week you saw so🌟me of the parts that were off the race engines, and it was quite a surprise to see exactly how hꦐard they were being hit by the ground.
"You know when you see Lewis [Hamilto🌱n] and George [Rus꧂sell] looking a bit uncomfortable getting out of the cars, the PUs were doing much the same.”
Mercedes sceptical about F1 2023 title chances
While Mercedes made encouraging progress as the season went on - culminating in their first and only victory of the year at the penultimate race in Brazil - the team remains sceptical about their chances of returning to form in F1 2023.
”I think the interesting thing is how we move forward from 🀅here,” said Mercedes technical director Mike Elliott.
"I think we've got to maintain that scepticism and be honest wit꧙h ourselves that we were behind at the end of the year.
"And while I think that we've made good progress through the year and I am really pleased with the culture I have seen and the attitude, we wඣilᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚl only see the return on that next year.”
Wolff added: "For me the perspective or the ꦏplanning is not about the short-term, it's not about a race, even a season or two or five.
"It's about I would like this team to constantly develop to be chasing for race victories and championships e𝕴very single year but not taking it for granted, not having any sense of entitlement and if I hear us talking it almost sounds like the complete disaster of all seasons... it fe💟lt like it and I think this is the right feeling.
"But we finished third in the Constructors' Championship, we were very close to Ferrari, we won a race, we had 10 plus podiums. Whatever happens at the beginning of next season it's goi༒ng to be another building block for the success of this team.
"We are trying to be as transparent as we can."
Lewis regularly at▨tends Grands Prix for mahbx.com around the wo🦋rld. Often reporting on the action from the ground, Lewis tells the stories of the people who matter in the sport.
