Toto Wolff names the one race still giving Mercedes 'trauma' after Bahrain

Mercedes are still guided by the ‘trauma’ of last year’s United States Grand Prix, team principal Toto Wolff has said.

The Silver Arrows made a disappointing start to the 2024 season by picking up just 16 points in Bahrain.

But Wolff says they have adopted a more conservative approach since Lewis Hamilton was disqualified from the race in Austin last October.

Hamilton finished second behind Red Bull driver Max Verstappen in Texas but ended up losing his points because the Mercedes was running too low.

There were flashes of promise from the Silver Arrows in Sakhir as Hamilton topped second practice and George Russell qualified third on the grid.

However, Russell was passed by Red Bull driver Sergio Perez and Ferrari duo Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc during the race, ultimately finishing fifth.

Meanwhile, Hamilton could only progress to seventh place after qualifying down in ninth.

Toto Wolff says Mercedes are still haunted by Austin 2023

Wolff says that Mercedes increased the ride height of their cars after deciding they were sailing too close to the wind in practice.

It’s unclear whether Mercedes’ set-up change saw them drop back in qualifying after threatening to contend for pole position in practice.

It may have been the case that their rivals were simply running lower engine modes before the meaningful action.

Perhaps a bigger concern for Wolff and co. will be the overheating they experienced during an unusually cool race in Bahrain.

Both Hamilton and Russell were instructed to lift and coast more than usual on team radio.

Sky Sports F1 commentator David Croft fears this could be an even larger problem in Jeddah this weekend, with temperatures set to be much higher.