Wolff: Mercedes ‘slowly but surely’ on course for F1 victory in 2022

The German automaker has had a difficult weekend for the Austrian GP so far, with crashes during qualifying for Lewis Hamilton and george russellthen both cars being hampered by damage in the sprint.

However, following the encouragement the team has drawn from its set of upgrades introduced during the work of the British Grand Prix, it remains optimistic about what can be achieved later in the campaign.

Hamilton said earlier at the Red Bull Ring weekend that he was confident the team was on track to be able to win a race later this season – and that’s something Wolff sees as a realistic goal.

“I think at Silverstone, if we look at our metrics, we had the fastest race car,” Wolff said, when asked by Motorsport.com if he agreed with Hamilton’s claim of victory. .

“We were also quite competitive in Barcelona too. Here, more competitive in qualifying than in the race. It was just: sticky.

“But the rear wing of George’s car is too big, so we’re too trailing. Also, they both had ground damage: George after lap three. So you can see a bit of a drop.

“The truth is, I think so, is the answer. I think we’re putting things together. Slowly, but surely. That would be the target.”

Wolff explained that the two mercedes suffered from their seatstays breaking on their cars in the sprint, and Hamilton suffered damage to the edge of the ground after the first clash with Pierre Gasly.

Beyond that, other issues – including Hamilton’s wonky steering – were items that would be sorted out in time for the race.

“I think we can repair these consequences of the shunt [in qualifying]and then there was a problem with the brakes too because something got stuck after the Gasly incident,” he said.

“These things you can, you can change. I wish we didn’t have parc fermé rules and we could actually work on the car to make it more competitive, but that’s the way it is.”

Asked if he was surprised Hamilton was able to continue after the Gasly incident, Wolff replied: “Yes, it’s just unfortunate. George had the same type of contact with Gasly at Silverstone and now it’s Lewis.

“I’m glad at least he was able to continue because it could have been the end of the race in the first corner, which would have been a shame. But now we are P4 and P8. Let’s see what it can do in the race. “