Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes not fooled by signs of improvement in Australia

T here can be no illusions for Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes as to where they stand in Formula One’s pecking order despite returning their best finish of the season at Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix. Melbourne was their first celebratory moment thus far but that they revelled in a second place is indicative of the mountain they have to climb. For a team that has dominated F1 for so long this is perhaps their greatest challenge yet.

Hamilton is no stranger to battling with an uncompetitive car, but for the team this season will truly test their mettle. On a roll of eight constructors’ championships in a row between 2014 and 2021, confidence and control went hand in hand with a calm sense of direction. All of which is easier to maintain with a winning car.

Now, with the advantage gone, this season’s car having been built with a flawed design philosophy and the team struggling to maintain their place in the front three, the task is more onerous and the pressure far greater than it ever was when Hamilton was romping home at the front of the grid.

The nexus of this intense endeavour is the team principal, Toto Wolff. As much as it is a problem for the team to be addressed collectively, the focus will be on how Wolff handles it. It is his toughest assignment since he joined Mercedes in 2013.

After the opening race of the season in Bahrain, when it was clear how far off the pace the W14 was, Wolff was sombre, unusual for a man who is generally of good humour even on the tough days. His blunt admission matched his mien. They had gone down a dead-end street in developing an evolution of last season’s model and he confirmed that Mercedes would immediately pursue a new design direction, in effect starting afresh with the season