F1 | Mercedes troubles: the W15 suffers from the wind and is lacking everywhere

Going from riches to rags – in this case, the Star becomes a stable – is an effective way to explain the fall of a person, in this case of a team. For Mercedes it is a perfect metaphor. After the good results seen in Free Practice 3 in Melbourne, the silver-black Arrows transformed into their worst version during qualifying.

The clear example that explains the difficulties of a top-ranking team like Mercedes is the elimination in Q2 of Lewis Hamilton, the driver who boasts the most pole positions in the history of Formula 1.

The W15, like its riders, went from being a few hundredths of the best in Free Practice 2 to being several light years away when it matters most. At the end of the official tests Toto Wolff did not use half measures to define the performance of the single-seater born and built in Brackley.

A car, the W15, which has weak points in all sectors and which, in order to function, has a very narrow window, from which it is very easy to exit and, probably, not so simple to enter.

“This situation is a disappointment because in Free Practice 3 we were one tenth from the best. The conditions were a little different, but there are no excuses. I think our car is difficult and that we can enter or exit the usage window in very little space”.

“We have to keep working on it. It's not just a question of instability at the rear. It's more complex than that. It's the whole interaction between aerodynamics, mechanics and tyres. It's never about a single aspect. Getting closer to Red Bull soon I think that term is an illusion. But I still have to believe that there is more to this car, to believe that there is more potential.”

The Mercedes team principal was echoed by Lewis Hamilton, 11th and disconsolate at the end of qualifying on a track where, during his career, he had the opportunity to start on pole 8 times.

“This car has a long list of problems. I think our car is a bit on a knife edge. When the wind increases, the car becomes much more unstable. In Free Practice 3 it was nice, with little wind, in fact the machine was more stable.”

“The feeling, in qualifying, is that although the car was running on less fuel, the W15 was better in Free Practice 3. It's not a good feeling for the team. But we'll continue to work.”