“I think this car will always have a special place in our collection – very far back,” Toto Wolff and Mercedes take important lessons from the ‘disappointing’ W13
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Toto Wolff (L) | Mercedes W13 (R)
Mercedes were the dominant force in Formula 1 for nigh on 8 seasons – when they finally lost their first Drivers’ championship in 2021. Even then, they won the Constructors’ title. But 2022 marked the end of their domination – and for a long time, they were not even in a position to challenge for wins.
They improved considerably in the second half of the season, and finally won their first and only race at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, but it was too little, too late, and they could only manage third in the championship. However, if you want to look at the positive side, that means they will have more wind tunnel time than their rivals (who they bridged the gap with considerably) – Ferrari and Red Bull.
Regardless of the ultimately disappointing performance, as per Motorsport.com, Toto Wolff and the team did take lessons from the car, which should help them in the future, and the W13 will have a ‘special place’ in their collection: “I think this car will always have a special place in our collection – very far back. But I think that hopefully the next few years will do her justice, because the learning curve with that car was enormous.”
The W13 has led to an evolution in the team’s understanding of aerodynamics, and it also gave the team a fantastic 1-2 finish in Brazil along with a sprint race win: “Our fundamental understanding of aerodynamic, vehicle dynamics correlation, has really had a step change, has gone through a step change of learning. And it will also not be forgotten as a car that dominated the Brazilian Grand Prix!”
Toto Wolff feels Mercedes understand the car’s problems ‘much better’ now
Mercedes performed far better in the second half of the season, and even more so in the last few races of the season as a development package that arrived at the US GP boosted their chances – they were Red Bull’s closest competitors in Austin and in Mexico City, and usurped the British team in Sao Paulo, winning both the sprint and the feature race.
Now, as the team go into 2023, Toto Wolff thinks that the team now understands why the car did not perform as well: “I think we much better understand what the problems were. We’ve been peeling onion layer after onion layer off, discovering more issues and more problems. But I think we’ve come to a point that we understand pretty well why the car is not performing.”
Toto Wolff believes that if they can sort out these issues through the winter, that will, at the very least, provide a stable platform to the drivers, and further development can help them along the way. Lewis Hamilton and George Russell are very capable drivers, and if the team gives them a good enough car, they are sure to get themselves in the mix. The possibility of a three-way (team) title fight is still in the cards.
Also Read: How many constructors’ titles have Mercedes won?
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Aniket Tripathi
(1002 Articles Published)