Mercedes yet to fully understand “surprise box” F1 car 

The German manufacturer have endured another disappointing campaign with the performance of their much-changed W14 continuing to fluctuate on a race-by-race basis. 

Wolff previously described Mercedes’ 2023 challenger as a “Diva 2.0” but said the team would persist with learning how to get the best out of it before shifting focus onto their 2024 car. 

Asked if Mercedes are now in a position where they fully understand their frustrating W14, Wolff replied: “Well, I wish that was the case but this is still for us a little bit of a surprise box.

“And every learning that we have this year is going to be is going to be valuable next year. 

“But obviously nobody's working on the current cars anymore.”

After a difficult outing last time out at Monza, where George Russell and Lewis Hamilton finished fifth and sixth, Mercedes are hoping for a more competitive showing at this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix. 

But Wolff is remaining cautious about Mercedes’ chances. 

"I wouldn't want to talk about high downforce and low downforce because it's more nuanced like this,” he explained. 

“Certainly, looking at the past races, we were better when it was about high downforce rather than the top-speed circuits like Monza and Spa. 

"But it's a fight every time you come to one of these races. It's a fight from the get-go and that's why we can’t predict we're going to be good.”