Drive to Survive clip shares Toto Wolff’s reaction to ‘incomprehensible’ Mercedes performance

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The 2023 season was far from ideal for Mercedes and team principal Toto Wolff’s reaction to their performance in Bahrain last year highlighted exactly how far off the pace they were.

Netflix’s Drive to Survive series captures all the unseen moments in the Formula 1 paddock.

The first episode of Season 6 focuses on the opening race of the season in Bahrain and it’s safe to say Mercedes discovered very quickly that they might not be competing for any titles in 2023.

Wolff’s disappointing reaction to 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix

When Lewis Hamilton announced he was moving from McLaren to Mercedes, it shocked the world of Formula 1.

Drive to Survive captured an awkward conversation between Hamilton and Toto Wolff after it was announced in February that he’ll be making a similarly seismic move in 2025 to Ferrari.

But the first gamble of his F1 career paid off handsomely, winning six titles with the Silver Arrows.

However, he narrowly missed out on breaking Michael Schumacher’s record in a last-lap shootout in Abu Dhabi with Max Verstappen back in 2021.

Since then, Mercedes have been on a slightly downward trajectory as Red Bull have run away with the Constructors’ Championship.

During the first race of the 2023 season in Bahrain, Toto Wolff’s frustrated reaction to their performance was captured by Drive to Survive.

Unfortunately, things didn’t get much better after they left Sakhir.

Mercedes frustration captured by Drive to Survive

After getting used to winning races and championships, Mercedes were behind Aston Martin, Red Bull and Ferrari in Bahrain.

Lewis Hamilton and George Russell finished fifth and seventh and in response to seeing Fernando Alonso finish on the podium during his Aston Martin debut, Wolff said: “We need a postmortem here because this is incomprehensible to me.”

Mercedes did end up finishing runners-up to Red Bull in 2023, but Verstappen on his own outscored the Silver Arrows.

Wolff’s reaction to their display in Bahrain was echoed throughout the season with Mercedes unable to win a single race.

He and Hamilton were both unhappy with the car and they’ve now got an opportunity to end their relationship on a high in 2024 before the Brit moves on.