Toto Wolff has revealed Mercedes’ biggest issue from last season has been fixed in a boost to Lewis Hamilton. The Austrian team principal confirmed the problem had been solved after just a day and a half of pre-season testing. Wolff answered the big question on Friday morning when pushed on the team’s mood heading into the new campaign.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1, he said: “The porpoising is gone essentially yeah.” Sky Sports commentator David Croft stressed Wolff’s comments were a ”big statement” as porpoising was the one thing they wanted to get rid of from last season.
It comes a week after Lewis Hamilton admitted he was more “comfortable” in the W14 compared to the W13. George Russell was asked whether the team had solved the bouncing during their Silverstone shakedown last week but refused to answer.
The Mercedes star simply told fans to wait until Bahrain to see if it had been solved. Ex-Mercedes test driver Anthony Davidson revealed Mercedes had studied how to fix the issues.
READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton sent ‘dreaded’ warning as Kravitz assesses new Mercedes
He explained: “That’s a good sign… I think what troubled them last year or what was so upsetting for them is they could see potential in the car with moments when it wasn’t porpoising. But when it was they were seeing spikes. The car was so unpredictable for the driver.
“One minute you had grip and then next minute you didn’t as you were approaching the higher speed corners where the porpoising was coming on strong. They probably did the most research into it out of any team out there because it was their biggest achilles heel.”
The Silver Arrows first noticed they were struggling with porpoising at last year’s pre-season test. The German manufacturer battled to solve the problem but was unable to get a handle on the issue for most of the year.
DON’T MISS
Verstappen gives surprise answer on new Red Bull car after F1 testing [INSIGHT]
Hamilton may finally get Verstappen revenge after Wolff’s comment [ANALYSIS]
Christian Horner caught laughing at Mercedes rival Toto Wolff [COMMENT]
The problem came to a head in Azerbaijan after Hamilton stepped out of his cockpit complaining of back issues.
However, Wolff was clear Mercedes felt they could challenge back at the front after a year of struggling to match Red Bull and Ferrari.
When asked about the mood at Brackley and Brixworth, he added: “A feeling of excitement because we got it wrong last year, we finished third and we definitely want to fight for a world championship. That is the aim but we want to stay humble also.”
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
