Mercedes’ Toto Wolff Acknowledges Team’s Challenges Despite Recent Successes

Toto Wolff acknowledges that Mercedes isn't yet in a position to compete for victories at every race.

Toto Wolff thinks that Mercedes isn't yet capable of competing for a win in every Formula 1 race, even though they've been performing better lately.

After the summer hiatus, Mercedes has returned as the leading team in Formula 1, securing victories in three of the most recent four races held in Austria, Great Britain, and Belgium. Lewis Hamilton has been particularly successful, winning two of these races.

Despite Mercedes making progress and closing the gap with their competitors, team boss Wolff remains skeptical about their car's ability to contend for victories on all kinds of tracks.

"We gained momentum before the summer break with a better-performing car and improved results. Our aim is to maintain that progress in the last 10 races of the season," Wolff stated before the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort this weekend.

"We acknowledge that there is progress to be made. Currently, we are not in a position to contend for wins at each Grand Prix."

"We have taken positive strides in addressing the W15's shortcomings and will keep pushing to make further progress. If we succeed, we will narrow the distance to the leaders in both championships."

During a recent interview with select media outlets, including Crash.net, at the Belgian Grand Prix, Andrew Shovlin, the head of trackside engineering for Mercedes, highlighted the primary weaknesses that still affect the W15.

"In high-temperature settings on tracks that strain the rear tires, we're not performing as well as McLaren or Max Verstappen's Red Bull," Shovlin mentioned when asked by Crash.net.

"We observed this in Budapest and Austria. Our race pace gap in Budapest was less significant. Therefore, I believe we've made strides over the course of these recent races. Looking back at Silverstone, we were competitive."

The primary weakness is that everyone is working on improving their cars. If your development pace isn't quicker than your competitors', you'll soon find yourself falling behind.

“There will always be an emphasis on how much progress can be achieved. We can only anticipate developments for about a month to six weeks ahead, as that is the typical timeframe we work with in the wind tunnel.”

"We are uncertain whether we can continue achieving high performance from our wind tunnel, vehicle dynamics team, and mechanical design team."

"They plan to keep delivering strong performances through the end of the year – at least that’s the hope. We have promising concepts, but transforming those ideas into tangible car parts that enhance speed requires considerable effort."

Explore Further

Recent Updates

Recent Updates

Website Map

Crash.Net

©1999-2024 Crash Media Group

It is prohibited to reproduce any part or the entirety of the text, photos, or illustrations in any manner.