George Russell and Toto Wolff issue Mercedes warning ahead of Australian Grand Prix

George Russell and Toto Wolff have admitted that Mercedes are still way off the pace and will not be challenging to win this weekend’s Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix.

The Silver Arrows may currently be second in the Constructor standings, with drivers Russell and Sir Lewis Hamilton fourth and fifth in the Driver standings, but this is not a true reflection of the championship.

Ferrari and Red Bull’s 2022 entries are far faster than Mercedes’ W13, which has notably struggled with ‘porpoising’ issues, where the car bounces up and down on the track uncontrollably, in the opening two races of the season in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

Eight-time reigning world champions Mercedes have failed to adapt to the new technical regulations put in place for the new season and team principal Wolff has acknowledged that the team are nowhere near competing for race wins.

Speaking in Mercedes’ Australia GP preview, the Austrian said: ‘At the moment, our track performance is not meeting our own expectations, but everyone at Brackley and Brixworth is focused on understanding the problems and finding the right solutions.

‘There won’t be a magic fix for the next race weekend, but we’re pushing to steadily bring gains over the upcoming races, to hopefully move us closer to the front of the pack. Until then, we need to maximise each opportunity and make the most of the package we have.

‘Lewis and George are making an important contribution to the overall effort, providing feedback, spending time in the simulator and working together to help push us forward.’

While there may be no ‘magic fix’, it is imperative for the team that they solve their key issue as soon as possible, as Russell points out.

‘It’s tricky because we’re putting all of our