Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has warned that the Miami Grand Prix might be too soon for the team to find themselves back in the dominant form they once knew.
The Silver Arrows have been off the pace of their Red Bull rivals since the 2022 rivals came into effect, finding themselves out of contention for the 2022 Constructors’ Championship and ending an eight year dominant streak.
Despite showing promise in Australia, Mercedes found themselves, once again, behind their rivals in Azerbaijan, unable to contend with Ferrari or Red Bull despite some small improvements to their car.
“We don’t have any upgrades with us, everything has remained the same,” Wolff said, after a mixed bag of results in the Sprint Shootout.
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“We were fully on pace after the first two corners, but as soon as we hit the section with more wind, the Ferrari became a different force.
“In the last sector, we were back on par with the top teams. I’m a little bit worried about Monaco.”
Mercedes had a mixed bag of results in Azerbaijan, failing to fight the dominant Red Bull duo of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez and falling back behind a resurgent Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.
Mercedes are due to introduce a revamped design in Imola, changing the full layout of their car but it’s not yet clear if that will be enough to put them back in the fight after the introduction of new regulations last season.
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With 2022 introducing the biggest slate of changes in Formula 1’s history, Mercedes has dropped from the top of the grid to, at best, third.
Sitting in P3 in the Constructors’ Standings, behind Red Bull and Aston Martin, Mercedes is now facing a threat from Ferrari, as the Italian outfit closed the gap in Azerbaihan.
Approaching Miami, Red Bull sits on 180 points, Aston Martin trails behind in 87, Mercedes sits on 76 and Ferrari is on 62.