Mercedes’ Toto Wolff Cautiously Optimistic Despite Recent Wins: Not Ready to Dominate All F1 Tracks Yet

Toto Wolff acknowledges that Mercedes still lacks a car that can consistently compete for victories across all races.

Toto Wolff is of the opinion that despite their recent improvement, Mercedes is not yet ready to contend for wins at every Formula 1 race.

Mercedes has come out of the summer hiatus as the leading team in Formula 1, securing victories in three out of the last four grand prix events held in Austria, Great Britain, and Belgium, with Lewis Hamilton crossing the finish line first in two of those races.

Despite Mercedes making strides against their competitors, team leader Wolff remains skeptical about the car's ability to vie for victories across all circuit varieties.

"Before the summer hiatus, we gained traction by enhancing our vehicle and achieving better outcomes. We aim to extend this advancement throughout the remaining 10 races of the season," Wolff stated before this weekend's Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort.

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

"We've made significant progress in addressing the W15's shortcomings and are committed to further efforts. By doing so, we aim to narrow the distance to the leaders in both championships."

In a recent discussion with a limited group of journalists, including those from Crash.net, during the last Belgian Grand Prix, Mercedes' lead for trackside engineering, Andrew Shovlin, offered insights into the W15's most significant persistent flaws.

"Shovlin acknowledged that under high temperatures at tracks where the rear of the car is crucial, they don't perform as well as McLaren or Max Verstappen's Red Bull, answering a question from Crash.net."

"In both Budapest and Austria, it was evident. Our difference in race pace was less pronounced in Budapest, indicating we've advanced in recent races. When examining Silverstone, however, our performance was strong."

"I believe the primary flaw lies there, yet it's a common goal for everyone to enhance their vehicles. If your development pace doesn't outstrip your competitors, you're likely to fall behind rather swiftly."

"Thus, the emphasis is constantly on the extent of development achievable. Our vision is limited to a mere month or a month and a half ahead, as that's the maximum range our wind tunnel operations allow us to forecast."

What remains uncertain is our capability to maintain performance outcomes stemming from our wind tunnel experiments, alongside contributions from our vehicle dynamics team and mechanical design department.

"The team is expected to maintain their momentum and enhance their performance towards the year's end, optimistically speaking. While we possess promising concepts, there's a significant journey from concept inception to producing tangible components that can be installed on the vehicle to boost its speed."

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