Toto Wolff reveals important detail of Mercedes’ upcoming upgrade package in Imola
Toto Wolff has confirmed one particular aspect of Mercedes' upcoming huge and much-anticipated upgrade package, which is expected to debut in Imola.
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The simple fact is that Mercedes have not met their own standards, either last season or currently. This has led them to admit defeat with their current ‘zeropods’ concept, which had raised many eyebrows upon its introduction. But unfortunately, it’s failed – at least in catching up with Red Bull. As Toto Wolff said, they were proven wrong in their belief. Work on a new one is in progress, and a revamped W14 is expected to debut in Imola.
While the W14 is not a ‘bad car’ per se, it’s definitely not good enough to consistently challenge or beat, Red Bull. Currently, that’s the goal. And so, they have to take a large performance gap, which may not be possible with the current concept. At this stage, it looks unlikely that Mercedes will be able to challenge for the title. However, that does not mean that they’ve already given up. They were closer in Australia, and it’s possible that they will take a very big step with the upcoming upgrade package.
Details of the package itself are a little more elusive, but Wolff has confirmed that the ‘layout’ will change. Speaking to Motorsport Italy, the Mercedes team principal said: “I don’t want to change the goals yet. I always want to think that we are here to fight for a world championship, even if it doesn’t seem realistic. We are only at the beginning, and I want to keep the team motivated to do the best possible job. There are many innovations in the pipeline, the layout of the car will change at Imola and we will see what this step entails.”
Toto Wolff: Red Bull are ‘undeniably’ far ahead of all others
So while he is not changing the goals, Toto Wolff is realistic about the situation. Red Bull are far ahead of Mercedes and any other team right now. Currently, it seems that the Silver Arrows’ real competition is with Aston Martin and Ferrari for P2 in the championship. Of course, they can’t be ruled out three races in – but it’s looking difficult. Red Bull have a very comfortable cushion on top.
Keeping this in mind, Wolff said: “It’s undeniable that there is a team that is far ahead of all the others. Then there’s us, Aston Martin and Ferrari who are very close. To be able to play for a world championship again, we know that we have to beat two drivers who at the moment they are far away, but we also have another fight for the role of second place, let’s say that they are two objectives.”
It’ll be interesting to see how much of a step forward Mercedes will be able to take with the Imola upgrade package. Aston Martin and Ferrari are also rumored to bring major upgrades around the same time, so we might see the battle between the top four teams heat up – this gives Red Bull something to think about.
In case you missed it:
- Toto Wolff addresses speculation about his Mercedes F1 future
- Ex-FIA president Jean Todt shines light on the actions of Christian Horner and Toto Wolff following the 2021 Abu Dhabi controversy
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Aniket Tripathi
(1002 Articles Published)