“Extremely painful to not be part of those fun games,” Toto Wolff envious of front row battles
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Toto Wolff
Mercedes F1 team has enjoyed unprecedented success as constructors during the hybrid era, which lasted from 2014-2021. The team won all of the eight constructors’ titles, and its drivers won seven out of the eight driver’s championships.
The team was hoping to continue their streak of championships in 2022, which also marks the beginning of a new era and one of the biggest regulation changes in F1 in nearly 40 years. But this year, so far, the team doesn’t seem to be challenging enough and has moved from the front of the grid to the middle. And this shift is what its team principal Toto Wolff despises after heading the team for over eight years.
Toto, as quoted by GP Fans, said, “We have had the luxury of being right in the middle of those fun games for the last eight years. Actually luxury is the wrong word. We were right in the middle of those fun games in the front, and talking as a Formula 1 stakeholder we’re benefiting from a great show that is really spectacular to look at. On the other side, it is extremely painful to not be part of those fun games by quite a chunk of lap time deficit.”
He added, “We’re not going to rest until we are back in the mix. It is no fun at all and an exercise in humility. It’s going to make us stronger even though it’s not fun right now.”
Toto Wolff speaks of the positives in the second race
Mercedes driver and seven-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton, who had a terrible qualifying in Saudi Arabia, started P16 and finished P10 after finding some of his groove in the main race, which was evident by his overtakes.
The driver started on the medium tires and pitted for the medium tires. Speaking of Hamilton’s progress, Toto Wolff said, “The encouraging side is that his pace on the hard was positive,” Wolff said. We couldn’t tell if it was fast, but it was positive.”
Mercedes is now looking for some pace to inject into its W13 to give its driver a fair chance to compete at the front of the pack. Toto Wolff believes it will take time, but the team will keep punching above its weight.
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Manan Goel
(400 Articles Published)