Wolff dismisses fuel allegations amid Mercedes dominance

Mar.14 (GMM) Toto Wolff has hit back at suggestions that Mercedes’ dominant advantage stems from illegal fuel, as George Russell cruised to another sprint victory in Shanghai to underline the scale of the Silver Arrows’ superiority.

“You don’t find 10 horsepower in gasoline. That’s a load of rubbish!” the Mercedes boss told L’Equipe, responding to ongoing political manoeuvring from rivals unsettled by the German manufacturer’s crushing pace.

He was unbothered that his friend Fred Vasseur was among those casting doubt. “One day, we’ll laugh about all this,” Wolff said when asked about the Ferrari boss.

“We’re fighting for a World Championship. Even if he sometimes talks nonsense, he’s still my friend.”

The sprint underlined just how far ahead Mercedes are. Lewis Hamilton’s radio message after sprint qualifying – noting a six-tenth gap to Russell – drew the response from his engineer: “They gained everything with pure power alone.”

For Hamilton, the irony of being on the wrong end of a Mercedes steamroller is not lost. The seven-time world champion, who spent over a decade driving those very engines, knows exactly what lies ahead.

“We need to push hard in Maranello to improve on power,” he said. “It’s something we’ve been aware of since last year – they’ve done a fantastic job, and we have to raise our level.

“As for the car, it’s great – we can compete with them in the corners, but when you’re behind in power, that’s just how it is.”

Ferrari had hoped their new ‘Macarena’ rear wing might narrow the gap, only to remove it from the car after practice. “I think we rushed into bringing it here,” Hamilton admitted.

“It wasn’t planned until race four or five. They’ve done a great job bringing it early, but perhaps it was a bit premature.”

Charles Leclerc was less diplomatic about its likely impact regardless. “I don’t think the new wing will change the situation,” the Monegasque said flatly.

Wolff acknowledged the engine advantage but insisted it tells only part of the story. “Our big advantage is mainly in the corners here,” he said.

“Gasly was fastest on the straights, but we make the most time savings in the corners. What I’m really happy about is how the car drives – you see the onboard images, the cars drive on rails.”

He did not rule out an early start to engine development as a factor. “Maybe we started earlier than others last year,” Wolff admitted.

McLaren’s Andrea Stella was blunt about the pecking order. “It’s only about the place behind Mercedes now, because they are far out of our reach,” the Italian said.

Red Bull’s situation is even bleaker. Isack Hadjar told Canal Plus the team were around two seconds off the pace – a deficit that left his team-mate Max Verstappen livid in a championship that, one race in, already resembles the Mercedes walkover of 2014.

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