Toto Wolff insists Mercedes “cannot compete for a championship” while grappling with ongoing reliability issues, following Kimi Antonelli’s late retirement at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.
Antonelli had just overtaken team-mate George Russell for second with five laps remaining before his car shut down a lap later due to 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 uncertain what caused Antonelli’s retirement on Sunday, which mirrored 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 maintains a 50-point advantage over Russell.
Mercedes’ advantage in the Constructors’ Championship was reduced to 72 points over Ferrari, who also suffered a retirement on Sunday as Charles Leclerc experienced terminal hydraulics issues.
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 consecutive Grand Prix victories was ended by Hamilton, had appeared off the pace for most of the weekend compared to Mercedes team-mate Russell.
However, that shifted during the race, particularly in the latter stages of stints when Russell appeared to suffer more tyre degradation than his team-mate.
Antonelli was on course to extend his points advantage over Russell by seven points before 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 believes was a mistake in hindsight.
“In the first stint, I felt very comfortable on the medium tyre. I felt we pitted really early. Lewis committed to a three-stop strategy 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 out that gap to Lewis. I thought we actually converted to a three-stop and when they told me we’re staying on for two, that was a challenge.”