Toto Wolff: “Many team principals are one-trick ponies”
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Toto Wolff
At the start of the season in Bahrain, Mercedes found themselves in a place where they had not been in since 2013. Since 2014, the Silver Arrows won every single constructor’s championship, which obviously means they always had a car capable of competing for the victory, but in 2022, that has not been the case, apart from in Silverstone.
While Mercedes showed glimpses of their true pace in Silverstone, they still found it hard for them to keep up with Red Bull and Ferrari on other weekends, with their podiums coming as a result of pristine reliability, with neither driver having experienced a component failure, with Mercedes’ only DNF of the season being in Silverstone, when George Russell retired from the race after an incident at the start.
Recently, with the ‘Flexi-floor’ controversy, Toto Wolff had alleged that some teams have been bending the regulations by using ‘flexible’ floors, and he was also unhappy with the 3% increase in the budget cap, arguing that there should have been a larger increase.
Toto Wolff: ‘We can deem ourselves successful if we catch up’ with Red Bull and Ferrari
As reported by PlanetF1, Toto Wolff felt that you need to have a wider perspective of things to be truly successful: “There are many [team principals] now in our sport that are just one-trick ponies that run teams very well, there are no two ways about it, but I think you need to have an ulterior focus in what you do.”
“I believe that you can only do well when you’re able to put your own role, your own team, and the sport into the perspective of the wider world.”
He added that his background in finance has helped shape the team better commercially: “I think that my 20-year background in finance has helped me to not only develop myself but also shape the team into the commercial operation that it is today. But I’m still learning. I’m 49 plus one, and I wonder where that trajectory takes me in the future.”
There were unusually high expectations for Mercedes coming into France, as it was felt that the ultra-smooth track suited the characteristics of their car, which has suffered on the bumpier tracks this season, especially so in Azerbaijan. However, on their performances in Friday’s practice sessions, they look unlikely to be taking victory this weekend, at least on pace.
He said: “I don’t think this [car] concept is going to be miraculously one second ahead of everybody at the end of the season, but I think we can deem ourselves successful if we have caught up.”
He felt that teams usually end up closer together towards the end of the season and that while Mercedes certainly won’t be running away with the title anytime soon – it is possible that towards the end that it is a three-way title fight, or even more teams vying for the victory.
Also Read: Toto Wolff savors Mercedes’ road to recovery: ” It reflects the mammoth effort of the team
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Aniket Tripathi
(1002 Articles Published)