‘They certainly have an advantage,’ Toto Wolff discusses how large Mercedes’ deficit to Red Bull really is
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Mercedes' team principal Toto Wolff
Mercedes started the year considerably behind the two frontrunners, Ferrari and Red Bull. This has generally remained the case, even if there have been occasional flashes of brilliance. Due to their consistency and pristine reliability, their gap to Ferrari is smaller than one would have expected at the start of the season, and often, they have been second-fastest, such as in Belgium, or in Mexico.
But they have not ever been the fastest car, and have struggled to consistently, and truly, compete for a win. They came ‘close’ in Silverstone, Zandvoort, and recently, Mexico, but not close enough. Talking to media including RacingNews365.com, team principal Toto Wolff discussed their deficit to Red Bull in particular.
The main problem for the Silver Arrows is that they couldn’t figure out the principal flaw in their car: “[Red Bull] certainly [have] an advantage, but we believe that we understand where the gap comes from. Red Bull will carry over some of the sweetness in their car, and we’ve maybe lost eight-to-ten months in terms of development because we couldn’t figure out what was wrong [with our car].”
But there are still three seasons of the current regulations, and 2026 is going to be a very major change, so Mercedes look to play the long game: “So there is definitely a challenge, but we are playing the long game, all of us. Both drivers are playing the long game and I want to judge the team’s performance not based on a single weekend or year, but how we’ve been able to win championships over the long term.”
Toto Wolff: Finishing P2 this season would be some ‘consolation’
Mercedes are currently 40 points behind Ferrari in the Constructor’s championship, with two races left in the season. While even the fact that the gap is so low speaks volumes, it would be quite something if they come out on top now. But that’s rather unlikely unless the Maranello team completely capitulate, or their performance is like it was in Mexico or Belgium.
While Wolff thinks that P2 would be ‘consolation’, he outlined that it isn’t the main goal of the team: “It will definitely be some consolation. Because Ferrari had the quickest car in the beginning of the season, and finishing ahead of them would be great, but it is not our main priority. That is to understand the car and having a quick automobile on the track.”
Next year, Mercedes will start again, and hope to take a step forward. Ferrari are using the rest of the year to better their execution of race weekends, which has often been their bane. Who will be the one to challenge Red Bull in 2023? Or will the British team run away with the title yet again?
Also Read: “For them, it will be too much,” Toto Wolff opines on Red Bull’s penalty for 2021 budget cap breach
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Aniket Tripathi
(1002 Articles Published)