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Toto Wolff insists he hasn’t got the ‘choice’ to leave Mercedes after another race to forget at the Australian Grand Prix.
Both Mercedes drivers did not finish in Melbourne but Wolff says he cannot leave the team despite their prolonged struggles on the track.
Lewis Hamilton retired early on Sunday after engine failure, while team-mate George Russell crashed out on the final lap.
Mercedes were hoping to improve on last year’s performance but currently sit fourth in the Constructor Standings, a long way behind Red Bull and Ferrari at the top.
Toto Wolff says he hasn’t got the choice to leave Mercedes
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Hamilton, who will leave for Ferrari in 2025, admitted after the race that there was a ‘massive gap’ between his car and Red Bull’s.
Wolff says the outcome was tough on the team and has urged his colleagues to bounce back in Japan in a fortnight.
He said: “Tough to take, super tough. I would be lying if I said at any moment I felt positive about the situation and optimistic.
“You just need to overcome the negative thoughts and say, ‘we will turn this around’. Today it feels very, very brutal.”
Wolff admits Mercedes are yet to live up to their expectations in 2024 and wants to ‘punch myself on the nose’.
He added: “We started this season in the belief that this car was better than last year.
“Then you look at last year [in Australia] where [Charles] Leclerc crashed out and [Carlos] Sainz was fourth on the road, McLaren were 17th, 18th or 19th and now they are 40 seconds ahead of us.
“On one side, I want to punch myself on the nose. On the other side, it’s a testimony that when you get things right, you can turn it around pretty quickly and continue to believe. At the moment, it’s a very tough time.”
Wolff was then questioned about his position as team principal, with Mercedes winning just one race in the last two seasons.
The Austrian says he is open to hearing advice on how the team can improve, replying: “As a corner of this business, I need to be sure that my contribution is positive and creative.
“I would be the first one to say, if someone has a better idea, tell me, because I’m interested to turn this team around as quickly as possible.
“And I’ll happily give my input and see what that would be or who that could be.
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Toto Wolff will not be leaving his role as Mercedes team principal
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“We have a physics problem, not a philosophical or organisational problem. We haven’t swallowed a dumb pill since 2021.
“It’s just we don’t understand some of the behaviours of the car, that in the past we would have always understood.
“I look myself in the mirror every single day about everything I do, and if I believe that I should ask the manager question or the trainer question, I think it’s a fair question, but it’s not what I feel at the moment that I should do.”
But Wolff says he hasn’t got the option to stand aside and allow someone else to take the role.
Both Mercedes drivers did not finish the Australian Grand PriX
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Wolff owns a 33 per cent stake in Mercedes so will remain at the team no matter what happens in the near future.
He said: “The big difference is it’s not like the manager question in terms of, this is my job, I’ll stop the job and then somebody else is doing the job and I’ll go to Chelsea or to Liverpool, or over to Ferrari.
“I haven’t got that choice, which is also unfortunate. I’m not a contractor or employee that says, ‘I’ve had enough of this’.
“My hamster wheel keeps spinning and I can’t jump out.”
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