© Steve Etherington for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.
Toto Wolff says “everybody is playing with fuel loads and hiding with engine modes”, and confirms Mercedes is also “still hiding a little bit”.
After the morning session of the second day of pre-season testing, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said his team is still keeping their cards close to their chest.
He admitted Red Bull and Ferrari look fast, but he also said everybody is still not showing their true performance.
“They are fast, no surprise there,” the Austrian said.
“Everybody is playing with fuel loads and hiding with engine modes. We are still hiding a little bit. You need to wait also for when the softer tyres come onto the car.”
Toto also revealed there is a lot of excitement in Mercedes’ garage.
“Excitement because we got it wrong last year. We want to fight for a championship but we need to stay humble.
“Mentally it was difficult to start with a car that is not on par, last year. Hopefully we see something better, and that’s where the excitement comes from.
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“We want to get it right. The porpoising has gone, essentially.”
Lewis Hamilton ended the morning session in P8, and afterwards Wolff admitted the W14 was a bit “out of balance”.
“When the car was out of balance, maybe you can see the car is leaving black marks when accelerating.
“It is hot, and we didn’t find the right setup, which is part of the learning for the new car.
“Yes, definitely. Because it isn’t the driver over-driving, it is the car not giving him enough grip from the rear.
“This is something we need to sort out,” Wolff concluded.
