Toto Wolff declares Mercedes ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari after Australian GP
Toto Wolff raised confidence in Mercedes' chances to stay ahead of Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton following a positive outing in Australia.
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Toto Wolff (via Planetf1), Lewis Hamilton (via Ferrari)
Mercedes and McLaren are currently tied for the lead in the constructors’ championship after scoring 27 points each at the Australian GP. Brackley showcased a great drive from both George Russell and Kimi Antonelli after they finished P3 and P4 respectively. Hence, Toto Wolff, who wanted to beat Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari, shared a positive response on the German carmaker’s performance against the Scuderia.
Mercedes’ challenger for the 2025 season, the W16 produced great performance and decent tire degradation in Australia which helped the two drivers finish in P3 and P4. Toto Wolff reckoned that McLaren’s ability to find performance improvement over the test session was something that Mercedes needed to learn. Wolff believed that the pecking order of tire management was led by Woking, followed by Red Bull, and then Brackley. This meant that the 53-year-old believed the German carmaker to be ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari.
I think how they manage to turn around a non-performing car from the Friday to the Saturday is something which you always need to bear in mind, and they hit the sweet spot there. So, I think when you look at the packing order in terms of tyre management, it’s McLaren, and it’s Red Bull, and then it’s us this weekend.
Toto Wolf said, as reported by GPblog
Wolff also laid out his wishes to fight with McLaren and Max Verstappen under normal conditions. The Mercedes boss accepted that the team had a ‘deficit’ in keeping the tires in the right window to perform at their maximum capacity. Meanwhile, the rivals managed tire temps much more effectively which further helped them perform well. Hence, the 53-year-old hoped to come a bit closer to the team at the very forefront and leave Ferrari completely in the dust.
I think we would have wished to have a fight with the McLarens and with Verstappen under normal conditions. We have a deficit in keeping the tyres in the window. They are able to do that better and get faster. That’s why I would have liked to be a bit closer to them, but that’s the reality.
Toto Wolff added
Toto Wolff compares McLaren’s current dominance to Mercedes’ golden era
McLaren currently boasts the fastest chassis on the grid as compared to its rivals. Both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have a great shot at fighting for the race wins due to the challenger’s superior performance. Toto Wolff believed that the British constructor’s current dominance was similar to Mercedes’ golden era back in 2013 to 2020 as they now faced problems in overcoming performance issues with the challenger.
Wolff highlighted that McLaren’s current performance was reminiscent of the time when Mercedes wanted to disappear in the distance. The 53-year-old issued a ‘never give up’ statement upon Brackley’s chances down the season. The Austrian looks forward to the upcoming race weekend in China following a great outing in Australia. Notably, Brackley is currently leading the championship for the first time ever in the ground-effect era.
It’s reminiscent to when we had these years where we just wanted to disappear into the distance. But you must never give up. We’ve just done the first race weekend. We finished third and fifth. It would have been fourth and fifth on merit, but we are where we are. And that’s why you can never take your foot off the throttle.
Toto Wolff noted
Toto Wolff assures Mercedes’ shortcomings ar ‘mechanical’
Mercedes has been known to face massive performance issues in the ground-effect era. The team has not been able to contend for either of the championships throughout the regulations. Hence, Toto Wolff asserted that Brackley needed to analyze the challenger and find areas of improvement. If the German carmaker fails to keep up with development throughout the season, they could easily lose the lead to the rivals.
Wolff highlighted that Mercedes needed to work on finding out how to manage the tire window better. The Austrian assured that the team was not losing points due to lack of downforce being an issue. The 53-year-old ruled out other issues on the challenger and asserted that they were purely on the mechanical side. Therefore, Brackley needed to find the ‘sweet spot’ that would help preserve the tires better.
We have to analyse what is it we can do in order to manage the tyre better. We’re not missing 20 points in downforce. That’s not the thing. It’s just literally on the mechanical side, what can we do to keep these in the sweet spot.
Toto Wolff explained
The 2025 season has just begun and has already put forth some highly exciting situations. The top four teams seem to be prepared for the championship contention down the season. However, Mercedes needs to keep up with the same performance in order to remain at the top of the competition. Time will tell about how the season pans out for the German carmaker, especially against Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton.
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