Toto Wolff says Mercedes “can’t compete for a championship” with continued reliability issues after Kimi Antonelli retired late on at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.
Antonelli had just overtaken team-mate George Russell for second with five laps remaining of Sunday’s race before his car shut down a lap later with a suspected power unit problem.
It follows Russell’s battery failure at the Canadian Grand Prix two races ago, while Mercedes’ customer teams – McLaren, Alpine and Williams – have also suffered problems throughout this season.
Mercedes are unsure what caused Antonelli’s retirement on Sunday, which was similar to Russell’s in Canada where the car “switched off”.
“We can’t compete for a championship if every second race a car that loses fat points. It’s one then the other,” Wolff told Sky Sports F1.
“To finish first, first you have to finish. That’s just not good enough.”
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Toto Wolff warned Mercedes must solve their reliability issues to fight for the championships after Kimi Antonelli’s late DNF in Barcelona, followed by George Russell’s retirement from the lead in Canada
Antonelli’s lead in the Drivers’ Championship was cut to 41 points over Lewis Hamilton after the Ferrari driver’s first win in red, while he’s 50 points ahead of Russell.
Mercedes’ advantage in the Constructors’ Championship was trimmed to 72 points over Ferrari, who also had a retirement on Sunday as Charles Leclerc suffered a terminal hydraulics problem.
Wolff said: “We can’t DNF cars in a continued way, losing 25 points in the Constructors’ Championship in Montreal and losing another 18 points on Sunday.
“We need to get on top of [it] and that’s number one. So nobody’s happy about that. And we will leave no stone unturned to understand.”
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George Russell retired from the Canadian Grand Prix with a battery issue
Antonelli: We were quickest in the race
Antonelli, whose streak of five Grands Prix wins was ended by Hamilton, had been off the pace for most of the weekend compared to Mercedes team-mate Russell.
However, that changed in the race, particularly towards the end of stints when Russell appeared to suffer more tyre degradation than his team-mate.
Antonelli was on course to increase his points advantage over Russell by seven points until his first retirement of the season.
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Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli reflects on his Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, which saw him retire late on with an engine failure
“I think we were quickest on track. Lewis, at the end, was very quick, but in the second stint we were super quick,” Antonelli told Sky Sports F1.
“Of course, Lewis, after the Virtual Safety Car, was not possible to catch, and by the way, I’m very happy for his win. It’s good to see that he got his first win with Ferrari.
“On my side, it’s very disappointing. I feel a bit empty right now, but at the same time, these things happen to everyone and the most important is to come back stronger.”
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George Russell praises former team-mate Lewis Hamilton after his first win with Ferrari
Mercedes were unfortunate with the timing of a Virtual Safety Car which allowed Hamilton to make a pit stop without losing the lead to effectively seal victory for the seven-time world champion.
However, before that, Mercedes reacted to Hamilton’s early first pit stop which Russell thinks was a mistake with hindsight.
“In the first stint, I felt very comfortable on the on the medium tyre. I felt we pitted really early. Lewis committed to a three stop and I think we should have committed to our own strategy,” he told Sky Sports F1.
“It’s something I want to pick up with the team because I was managing quite a lot at the start and still eking that gap out to Lewis. I thought we actually we converted to a three and when they told me we’re staying on for two, that was a challenge.”
Formula 1’s European season continues with the Austrian Grand Prix on June 26-28, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime
