Wolff: We don't feel any sense of entitlement

After their utter dominance of the F1 scene - crushing the competition winning Title doubles between 2014 and 2020, and securing a record eighth consecutive Constructors' Title in 2021 - Mercedes have been struggling since the start of the new era of aerodynamics rules that kicked off in 2022.

Mercedes debuted a radical solution with their infamous 2022 car the W13, featuring slim sidepods, but that backfired spectacularly as the car turned out to be a bouncing trap (porpoising), and strangely, the team decided to stick to their concept in 2023 with their W14 that, despite not being bouncy, is woefully off the pace.

Speaking in an interview on the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula 1 Team website, Toto Wolff admitted the team is handling the situation with humility accepting the challenge they face on the road to recovery.

"It's been difficult so far," Wolff revealed. "With the way we developed the car, we were hopeful of sorting out our issues from last year. And we realised we weren't coming out of the blocks where we expected to be.

"Having said that, we don't feel any sense of entitlement," he insisted. "This [F1] is the toughest competition in the world, and it wouldn't be such a fantastic challenge, if it was easy.

"Three races into the season, I think we saw that one team is setting the benchmark now. In Australia though, we saw glimpses of performance in our car that encourages us for the next part of the season."

Mercedes showed improved form in Melbourne, as Lewis Hamilton survived the mayhem of the 2023 Australian Grand Prix to take second place behind winner Max Verstappen.

Wolff reflected: "In terms of car development, it is encouraging to see that within three races, we understand the car much better, we have defined a clear direction where we need to go and I believe we are on the right trajectory. We need to consolidate our understanding and hopefully over the next few races we can make another step.

"It's also important to keep on track and not oscillate too much between exuberance and depression; to stay rational and believe in our trajectory, believe in the capability of the team. There will be setbacks but there will also be upgrades and plenty of work that will help us get closer to the front," he explained.

Red Bull have been the team to beat, three races into 2023, as they currently lead the Constructors' Championship by 58 points from second-placed Aston Martin who have beaten both Mercedes and Ferrari so far this season.

"We understand the knowledge that we need to recover. We need to have a steeper development curve than Red Bull and fundamentally, we want to compete for race wins," Wolff said. "They are setting the benchmark now. We trust in the process and in the people, and there will be setbacks. But if the trajectory is up, that's where we want to be heading."

"The machine is continuing to run in Brixworth and Brackley at a fast pace," the Austrian said of the work Mercedes is doing behind the scenes. "What you see on track is only the tip of the iceberg, but the performance of the car and Power Unit is made in these two factories.

"The mindset is great, the spirit is there and I see a lot of buzz. I believe 100 percent in our organisation, because our perspective is not always on a single race weekend, not even a single season.

"It's on trying to build our capability so we are successful over multiple years, while recognising the fact you are never going to win every single season, because no sports team has ever done it," the Mercedes boss maintained.