Wolff insists Mercedes hit “very high targets" with F1 2023 concept

Aiming to return to title contention after a miserable 2022 campaign, Mercedes made an underwhelming start to the new campaign as Lewis Hamilton finished fifth with teammate George Russell seventh in the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix. 

Hamilton ended up 50 seconds adrift of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and was also beaten by Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin and the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz, while the second Aston Martin of Lance Stroll managed to split the Mercedes pair in sixth. 

Wolff admitted in Bahrain that Mercedes would need to ditch their 2023 concept in order to return to the front in F1 and demanded “radical” changes after describing the Bahrain Grand Prix as “one of the worst days in racing”. 

Nevertheless, the Mercedes team principal stressed his side did achieve the targets they had set during the off-season. 

"We set ourselves very high targets and we've achieved those high targets," Wolff said. 

"I think it's where we set those targets, all of us collectively, and how we need to maybe change the perspective which is an interesting exercise. It is also something I'm looking forward to.

"I'd rather win every single race and continue to win championship after championship, but this is now the real challenge, and for me it is an interesting one, as painful as it is today.

"It is pretty clear where we should be going, we just need to make the data work and I think the most important thing is re-establishing a baseline to say: 'This is where we are and that there are no surprises in the other direction.”

Mercedes remained faithful to their distinctive ‘zero sidepod’ design over the winter, while many teams have converged towards a concept similar to that of Red Bull. 

Wolff suggested Mercedes are considering “different concepts” and remain “open-minded”. 

"We've looked at other ideas and haven't stood still," he explained.

"That's not only in the two weeks when we saw that we haven't been able to close the gap, but we've done it for a while just to be open-minded, and still with an emphasis on making this [concept] work.

"But we've already looked at different concepts."