Mercedes has struggled with their car since last year. Perhaps the change in regulations has not worked well for the Brackley team. Toto Wolff has been an unhappy team principal since last year. Prior to 2022, the Austrian billionaire executive was not very familiar with his team finishing second. Along with Lewis Hamilton, Wolff joined the German team in 2013. Since then, the Silver Arrows have been unstoppable. They used to have the fastest car on the grid. From 2014 to 2021, they won every constructor’s title. On top of that, the partnership between the team principal and the star driver has been very notable.
Anyhow, Mercedes used the 2023 season to learn more about the car to get a better understanding ahead of the development process of the W15 car. At the start of the 2023 season, the German team hoped to close the gap between them and the reigning champions, Red Bull. However, the plan backfired this year. Hence, Toto Wolff feels setting the expectations right is the biggest challenge for the next season.
Mercedes Boss Talked About The Biggest Challenge For His Team Ahead Of F1 2024
During a Mercedes Q&A, Toto Wolff highlighted a crucial point his team is currently focusing on. Moreover, they must set the expectations right for the 2024 season. Wolff knows that they have a huge mountain to climb. Last season, Red Bull won an unbelievable 21 races. The only Grand Prix they didn’t win was in Singapore. Ferrari was able to snatch a victory in the Marina Bay circuit. Since 2011, the 2023 season was the German team’s first-ever winless season. Hence, the Mercedes F1 team has a huge responsibility to turn things around. But Toto Wolff claims that they can’t be sure of anything before the opening Grand Prix next year.
Albeit there’s a huge gap to close, Mercedes’ boss is hopeful that they are on the right track. Wolff said that they have taken a few proactive steps to close it as much as possible. What Mercedes learned from the 2023 season was that the car lacked stability, and they found it very hard to nail the operating window. Moreover, Toto Wolff mentioned it is the stopwatch that would tell them how much work they have done.
Hamilton’s Team Knows Retaining The Zero Sidepod Concept Was A Bad Idea
When Lewis Hamilton lost narrowly in 2021 the chance to win his coveted eighth title, something drastically changed in the German team camp. Since then, Toto Wolff has mentioned that his main aim is to help Lewis win his eighth title. But the Mercedes boss also said that he would not mind if Hamilton decides to leave the team after the 2025 season.
Anyhow, the Brackley team surprised everybody when they retained the zero-side pod concept in 2023. It was quite clear that concept was not working. But after the success in the Brazilian Grand Prix in 2022, Mercedes thought it might just work next year. And that was a catastrophic decision as Toto Wolff’s team struggled to find a win all year round. In the end, they had a winless season.
