“It will take time to make the gains we want” – Mercedes’ Toto Wolff

Team Principal of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team ,Toto Wolff, praised the team for the work they have done to the Mercedes W13 car over the Easter weekend, ahead of the upcoming Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Italy.

This weekend will also feature the first Sprint race of the 2022 season. Wolff discussed what he deemed as an “incredible” Australian Grand Prix, and how the team are looking ahead of this weekend .

“Melbourne was a great weekend for Formula One, the atmosphere was incredible, and it was wonderful to be back in Australia in front of so many fans. For us, the race went better than we expected, especially after a difficult Friday.

“George and Lewis were both on strong form all weekend and delivered a useful haul of points for the Team. We learned a lot and really maximised the opportunities available, and that’s what we need to keep doing. We know we haven’t got the pace of the Ferrari and Red Bull right now. But we’re working hard to reduce their advantage, and it’s been brilliant to see everyone across the factories pulling together to achieve this.

“There’s been a lot of hard work over the Easter weekend in the factory to bring improvements to the car and get it ready to head to the next race, and that shows the team’s dedication to turning the situation around. Of course, we must be realistic, it will take time to make the gains we want, but we’re learning as much as we can from each race and finding avenues to push us forward.

“Now we look ahead to Imola and the first Sprint event of the season. It’s an historic, old-school circuit with a challenging layout that the drivers really enjoy. Qualifying is important owing to the narrow track, while its sweeping nature really puts the cars to the test. We’re looking forward to seeing how 2022 machinery tackles Imola,”

Mercedes have been gradually closing up to Scuderia Ferrari and Oracle Red Bull Racing in the last two races, and will be hoping to make more progress in Italy this weekend, especially with more points being available in the Sprint.