Mercedes shared a message to fans of the team on Saturday morning on behalf of Lewis Hamilton, George Russell and Toto Wolff. On the official site of the German racing stable you can read that they share the pain and disappointment of their supporters and are doing everything they can to turn the tide as quickly as possible. They hope for support from their supporters.
“Bahrain hurt,” Mercedes begins in an open letter to their fans. “It hurt everyone, who are determined to fight for world championships every season. It hurt the team as a whole, after putting so much hard work into a car that didn’t live up to our expectations. And we know it hurt our fans, too. Your passion and support are so important in helping us move forward and we know we feel the same pain.”
Mercedes says it wants to do something about the situation, but emphasizes that hasty reactions will not occur and that there is no panic. “In the bright spotlight of F1, people are quick to point fingers in search of scapegoats. You know us better than that. Within the team we talk about the courage to fail, the character to be accountable and the strength to see failure as an opportunity. We’ve been open and honest about where we are.”
Mercedes is working on a recovery plan: ‘Don’t turn it around from one day to the next’
The team says it is urgently, but calmly, working on a recovery plan to turn the tide. After all, the W14 is not the step that was hoped for, as Hamilton and Russell only finished fifth and seventh in Bahrain. “We already have developments in the pipeline for the next races and more will follow. But we can’t turn it around overnight,” Mercedes remains realistic.
The racing stable therefore keeps a cool head. “We know the standards we strive for, and no one cringes when we look at the mountain we have to climb. It won’t be easy, but what’s the value of something easy? These are the moments when character is shown, the moments when a team becomes greater than the sum of its parts, tackles difficult problems and overcomes them. And we like that challenge.’
