Toto Wolff knows that his team, Mercedes, is not having a great time for the last few seasons. The last year especially has been a disaster due to the W13 car. Mercedes has not yet figured out the best concept of a car in the cost-cap era. They enjoyed the hegemony during the turbo-hybrid period when there was no limit to spending on cars. However, since 2021 the German team has lost its grip on the title.
In the new season, as it turns out, other than Red Bull, the other team that’s looking pretty good with their car is Aston Martin. But Mercedes is still struggling with a similar concept the previous year is just not working. The W13 car had bouncing trouble due to porpoising issue.
Toto Wolff Thinks Mercedes May Not Win Any Title This Year
In comparison, the W14 has issues with balance, rear downforce, and the cockpit. A few days ago, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff mentioned that “We should always aim high no matter what.” However, recently he contradicted himself, saying that perhaps they should not aim to beat Red Bull this season. Mercedes cannot afford to think about fighting for titles. They are not yet there, as per Wolff. The Silver Arrows can try to challenge the red devils, Ferrari, and the new contenders, Aston Martin. But Wolff feels they should not hope for winning a title this year. The Austrian billionaire has pointed out the perfect storm of the last year’s Brazilian Grand Prix.
When the team struggled so much since the beginning of the season, the German team made plans to use a different concept. However, the team won the P1 and the P2 in Brazil. That changed everything. Mercedes did not change the zero-side pod concept. The boss feels that was a big mistake. Mercedes, at present, is looking forward to the new modifications that await them in Imola. These modifications can help the car gain speed, but how much it will help them beat the favorites, Red Bull is a big question mark.
Mercedes Eagerly Waiting For Imola Modifications
After the first three Grands Prix of the year, Mercedes with Lewis Hamilton is placed at P4. The German team is still 31 points behind the Milton Keynes team. But Lewis Hamilton can try to beat Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin, who is 7 points ahead of him. Toto Wolff mentioned that Red Bull might be too far ahead of the rest, but there are three teams fighting for second place. Ferrari, Aston Martin, and Mercedes will battle out on the track to gain superiority.
The technical director of Mercedes, Mike Elliot, mentioned that Imola modifications might be a vast improvement to the W13/14 cars. However, Wolff suggests that shooting for the stars seems unrealistic at this point. If the new concept from Imola works, then the Mercedes team might get their car ready for the next year’s championship. As things stand, Max Verstappen and Checo will get a free ride to the title this year as well. However, there are still 19 races to go, and if not Mercedes, then Aston Martin can be the dark horse to challenge the Austrian team for the title.
