Toto Wolff believes Mercedes have taken a “clear” step forward over the winter and that the incꦉonsistency issues which plagued them over the past three seasons are no longer apparent.

Mercedes saw their cars finish in the top four at the season-opening F1 Australian Grand Prix.

168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:George Russell enjoyed a lonely race to finish third behind168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史: Lando Norris and 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Max Verstappen.

168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Kimi Antonelli recovered from his Q1 exit to secure fourth ♐after his p🎃enalty for an unsafe release was revoked.

Since the introduction of the ground effect rules in 2022, Mercedes have won just five races and often lagged well behin🐼d Red Bull, Ferrari, and more recently, McLaren.

Wolff feels that Mercedes have a “stable pla🥃tform” with their W16 F1 car, and now it’s about “unlocking more potential and adding performance”.

“We leave Australia with many positives but also a healthy dose of rea🧸lism asಌ to where we stand in the pecking order,” Wolff said.

“ℱThe W16 provided a stable platform for the drivers, was less prone to swings in performance relative to the conditions than its predecessor, and at momꦇents, showed strong enough pace to challenge at the front.

“It’s clear we have taken a good step forward over ꧂the winter. Our focus is now on unlocking more potential and adding performance. We are excited for that 🅷challenge.”

Wolff delighted with “flawless” Russell

While it was a quiet race for Ru🗹ssell, nailing the switch from dry tyres to intermediates ensured he could benefit from Os💛car Piastri’s off-track moment.

Wolff described Ru🧔ssell’s race drive as a “top performanc📖e”. 

“The race itself was well-executed. We made the right decisions at the right time to claim our first podium of the season. George drove a flawless race, pushing when he needed to, man൲aging his pace to capitalise on the podium and taking advantage of the opportunities w🌠hen they presented themselves,” he explained.

“A top performance and just underlies his speed, maturity and intellig🍌ence.”

Anton༒elli went from 16th on the grid to finish f꧑ourth.

Like Russell, the timing of the switch to intermediates played a crucial role in him sco𝄹ring a big result on his F1 debut.

But given it was his first race in F1, Antonelli’s composure, particular🦄ly when battling other cars, was impressive.

“For Kimi, he could not 𝓀have asked for a more difficult task on his Grand Prix debut: st൲arting out of position, facing extremely difficult conditions and, at times, a treacherous track,” Wolff added.

“Nevertheless, he handled everything that was thrown at him with a matu💧rity beyond his years. His spee🌄d when in free air was impressive and his confidence and decisiveness when overtaking were superb. There will be challenging moments for him across the season, but we are pleased with the trajectory we are seeing from him already. P4 was a just reward.”