Mercedes W15 fears raised as Toto Wolff concedes ‘not many good ones left’

Having struggled to adapt to the demands of the ground-effect regulations across 2022/23, Mercedes enjoyed their strongest run of results in three of the four races leading into the summer shutdown, triumphing in Austria, Britain and Belgium.

However, the team have struggled since the season resumed at last month’s Dutch Grand Prix with George Russell and Lewis Hamilton restricted to just one podium finish between them across the last three races.

Speaking ahead of this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix, where both drivers challenged for victory in 2023, Wolff conceded that there are not many favourable tracks left for Mercedes this season.

And he likened the team’s situation to that of Ferrari, who have enjoyed a mid-season resurgence of their own over recent weeks with Charles Leclerc taking consecutive pole positions at Monza and Baku.

Wolff told reporters: “I think, where we’ve traditionally been fast is Barcelona, Silverstone, Spa at times.

“Austin was a good one for us [in the past], Brazil was a good one for us. Not so many good ones left. But the Ferrari pattern is rarely the same.

“Whether [or not] they are going for a championship, they have five tracks where they are exceptional and the drivers are exceptional.”