Toto Wolff reveals key factor behind Mercedes’ ‘tricky situation’ in 2024
The Mercedes Formula 1 team has had quite a few crashes with its drivers in the 2024 season.
Follow Us
Toto Wolff (via planetf1)
The Mercedes F1 team has had a rollercoaster ride in the 2024 season. From winning three Grand Prix to getting out of contention for the constructors’ championship, the outfit has not had a tumultuous campaign. Ahead of this week’s Brazilian GP, Toto Wolff has taken the time to shed light on the key factor behind his team’s downfall.
The Brackley-based team has proved incredibly inconsistent in terms of extracting performance out of the W15. On top of this, the Mercedes drivers have wrecked their cars on quite a few occasions, putting a lot of stress on the budget cap.
Toto Wolff believes the crashes have put his team on the back foot significantly this year.
Kimi’s crash in Monza, George’s crash in Austin, George’s crash here. I love a driver to push, and I’d rather crash and we know what the car is capable of doing than not. In cost cap land nevertheless, it’s a tricky situation.
Toto Wolff via Formu1a.uno
Looking at the reaction of the Mercedes boss, it is quite clear that his team has been severely affected by the crashes this year. Lewis Hamilton, George Russell, and even 2025 star Kimi Antonelli have all had their excursions outside of the racing track in the W15.
Mercedes to have two ‘new floors’ at the Brazilian GP
While Mercedes has gone two steps back in the last few races, Toto Wolff has revealed that his team’s final 2024 upgrades will come this week. At Interlaos, the W15s will have new floors and this will be the last upgrade for the remainder of the season.
After the Brazilian GP, three more races are still remaining on the calendar.
And we probably have to dial down on what we put on the car. So we will be having two upgrade packages in Brazil, two floors, but that’s basically it. There’s nothing else that’s going to come.
Toto Wolff via the same interview
Mercedes has so far managed to amass 366 points in the 2024 constructors championship. They are not in the running for the title and for them, the remaining races are just about doing the best possible job with the tricky W15.
Moreover, with Lewis Hamilton saying sayonara to the outfit at the end of the Abu Dhabi GP, both parties would want to end the partnership on a major high. From the point of view of the Mercedes faithful, the remaining four races will be an extremely fascinating watch.
Stay Updated!
Rishabh Negi
(3244 Articles Published)