Everybody at Mercedes is probably counting down the days until the 2022 season is over, with the Brackley-based team ready to bury the woeful W13.
The Silver Arrows have faced their most challenging season since the introduction of the hybrid era back in 2014, with the Germans set to see their eight-year Constructors’ Championship reign come to an embarrassing end.
Red Bull currently lead the Constructors’ by 139 points from Ferrari, with Mercedes a further 35 points behind.
The recent Italian Grand Prix was another difficult race for the Silver Arrows, who have faced difficulties at low downforce circuits like Monza and Spa.
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George Russell did well to convert a second place start into a third place finish, whereas Sir Lewis Hamilton calved his way through the field from P19 to fifth.
Whilst third and fifth doesn’t sound terrible, Russell was unable to get close to either Max Verstappen or Charles Leclerc, with Red Bull and Ferrari still just too strong for the Brackley-based side.
Team principal Toto Wolff is finding the season incredibly “frustrating”, with the Austrian aware that the team simply hasn’t got a car capable of winning races.
“The frustrating part is we haven’t got a product underneath them that is capable to fight for victories, we are quite far off and that is the reality,” said Wolff.
“Monza in the simulation wasn’t great for us, so I hope we can do better in the next few races and really fight with the top guys.”
With the upcoming Singapore Grand Prix certainly not being a low downforce circuit, Wolff is more optimistic about the team’s chances.
The Mercedes boss is confident that the Marina Bay Circuit “should suit” the W13, with the 50-year-old certain that the returning Asian race should be one of his team’s “better tracks”.
“The track layout should suit our car, the bumps not,” said Wolff.
“On the simulations, it says it should be one of our better tracks but I’m trying to stay on the careful side with any predictions for Singapore.”
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Mercedes will be hoping to end their winless streak at Singapore, with the team still yet to taste victory this season.
The Silver Arrows have managed to win a race every season since 2012, meaning that this record is at considerable risk.
The Singapore GP will be the first since 2019 following the Coronavirus pandemic, with Hamilton having finished fourth in 2019, whereas Russell failed to finish the race whilst at Williams.