Mercedes boss says 'no bouncing' issue during testing
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said on Thursday that the bouncing issues that plagued the team's race car last year have disappeared.
"There's no bouncing, which is good news," Wolff said Thursday from Bahrain.
He made the comments on Day 1 of testing ahead of next week's season-opening race at the Bahrain International Circuit.
Mercedes won just one race in 2022 in its W13, which bounced violently at high speeds last year, a problem that was discovered during winter testing at Bahrain.
"(Last year we) knew we were in trouble because the car was bouncing around and we really weren't able to drive it correctly. (Today) is very different," Wolff said.
152 laps for W14 on Thursday. ?? pic.twitter.com/Jq1pHFw1Go
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) February 23, 2023
He added that driver George Russell was "generally happy with the car" during Thursday's first session.
Russell posted the ninth-fastest time on Day 1 testing, plus-1.337 seconds behind Max Verstappen in the morning session. Russell drove 69 laps.
Teammate and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton drove 83 laps and posted the sixth-fastest time in the afternoon session, plus 0.671 seconds.
83 laps for LH to end day one in Bahrain. ?? pic.twitter.com/4c9nEKAMvS
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) February 23, 2023
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