Comment by Kieran Jackson

Never mind waiting for the first race of the Formula 1 season. A weekend of testing, three practice sessions and qualifying in Bahrain has told Toto Wolff everything he needed to know.

No sandbagging. No magic fix. No hiding. Mere hours into the 2023 campaign the Mercedes boss – once the unflappable executive titan of the sport – cut a despondent figure speaking to the press in the late hours on Saturday. Acknowledging that his team’s persistence, bordering on stubbornness, had been a mistake, he revealed a change of tack is already in the pipeline.

Speaking after George Russell and Lewis Hamilton qualified sixth and seventh respectively, the Austrian stated: “I don’t think that this package is going to be competitive eventually.

“We gave it our best go over the winter and now we all just need to regroup, sit down with the engineers, be totally non-dogmatic and ask what is the development direction we want to pursue in order to be able to win races.”

As sporting U-turns go, this is pretty seismic. Race weekend No 1 of 23: rip it up and start over.

Lewis Hamilton’s Formula One future is set to be put on hold as Mercedes attempt to resolve their miserable start to the new season.

Hamilton finished fifth at the opening round in Bahrain on Sunday – 51 seconds behind winner Max Verstappen – with team-mate George Russell seventh. The seven-time world champion’s contract expires at the end of the season, and speculation is rife that he could stall on a new deal if Mercedes fail to reverse their slump.

Asked if the Silver Arrows will put a Plan B in place if Hamilton does not commit to an extension, team principal Toto Wolff said: “There is no point talking about the driver situation for 2024.

“That is far too early. We have to all push in the same direction, the drivers, engineers and management, rather the throwing in the towel. We have never done that and we will not do that now.”

Speaking in the build-up to the Bahrain Grand Prix, Hamilton, 38, said only a catastrophe would prevent him from extending his stay with Mercedes. But his comments came before he hit the track and the extent of his team’s troubles were exposed.