Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is ‘p***** off’ over Red Bull’s superiority over the past two seasons as they are ‘on a different level’ to the Silver Arrows.
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen has started this season in breathtaking form and early signs point towards a third consecutive world championship for the Dutchman.
The Milton Keynes-based outfit has won in each of the seven races that have taken place so far and there has even been talk about them going on to win all Grand Prix fixtures in the campaign.
Although Hamilton and Russell did manage to get on the podium at the Spanish Grand Prix, the Mercedes W14 was noticeably slower than the all-conquering RB19, as Verstappen claimed his fifth win of the season.
In the midst of Mercedes’ struggles, Wolff has admitted that Red Bull’s superiority simply winds him up and said the onus is on his team to spark a revival.
“I think Verstappen is just on a different level. It p***** me off to say that but that is the reality,” Wolff said.
“There is a meritocracy, [Red Bull] have just done the best job, the driver’s driving excellent and they are just far away. And that is something which only we have in our hands to get under control.”
Saying that Verstappen is on a different level is sure to frustrate Hamilton, who famously clashed with the Dutchman a number of times during the 2021 edition.
Also, Mercedes themselves dominated the sport for a number of years and Wolff perhaps needs to show more patience as the Silver Arrows look to redeem themselves.
It was a season of eventual heartbreak for Hamilton, who saw Verstappen controversially go on to claim his maiden world championship.
Russell crashed with Hamilton during Q2 at the Spanish grand Prix and was handed a formal warning as a result.
While Mercedes played down the incident under the guise of ‘miscommunication’, Wolff confessed that the team will have to take a closer look at footage to ensure such a thing doesn’t happen again.
“It shouldn’t happen. Team-mates should never collide and even with another car you shouldn’t collide in qualifying,” Wolff said.
“It’s always unfortunate circumstances that can potentially penalise both cars. Here it didn’t penalise George because he didn’t know and he went onto his lap. Lewis had to change his front wing.
“This is a team effort and something in our communications. We need to review after that incident to avoid it in the future.”
Read more: Lewis Hamilton and George Russell hit Toto Wolff with Red Bull-related request before W14 upgrade