Toto Wolff aims for another podium in Jeddah: “Mercedes is still in the fight” | F1 Saudi GP. Mercedes targets a fourth podium of the season in Jeddah.

After three podiums in four Grands Prix, Mercedes wants to challenge McLaren again in Jeddah. The Brackley team, which won the first edition of the Saudi Arabian GP but hasn’t returned to the podium since 2022, intends to deliver another strong performance, especially with George Russell in top form.

In his remarks previewing the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix weekend, team principal Toto Wolff also took the opportunity to defend Kimi Antonelli’s performance in Bahrain, saying the Italian was unlucky in many race situations.

Toto Wolff’s comments
“Even though we were encouraged by our performance in Bahrain, Jeddah presents a different challenge. We’re moving from a rear-limited track to a more front-limited one, with various high- and medium-speed sections. It would be foolish to try to predict the pecking order, but we will aim to fight for the podium once again,” commented the Austrian.

“The Bahrain GP was eventful. George battled through several issues with his car to secure P2. It was a superb drive from him under considerable pressure, helped by the calmness and problem-solving from the team. We’re working hard to understand what caused the issues we faced to ensure they don’t happen again,” he continued. “For Kimi, Bahrain was an important part of the learning curve. Over the weekend he showed the pace to fight for the top five. However, he was out of position after the first lap and, while trying to recover in the first two stints, his tyres suffered. Switching to a different strategy, he was then unlucky with the timing of the Safety Car, and our choices didn’t give him the chance to fight his way back into the points. It’s easy to forget that Kimi is just at the start of his F1 career, given his performances so far. Bahrain will prove to be a key step in his continued development.” – the Mercedes team boss concluded.