Mercedes and Ferrari struggled throughout the season because the other powerhouse dominated the center stage. Red Bull has been enjoying its hegemony since last year. In 2021, the Silver Arrows emerged victorious despite Max Verstappen snatching away the Driver’s World Championship from Lewis Hamilton. It was symbolic because that marked the turnaround in the F1 grid.
Anyhow, at the end of the 2023 season, Red Bull has a better understanding of their car’s concept because they have been driving with the same concept for two years. Hence, Mercedes is anyway in the backfoot. But it can sure be frustrating for the team principals to see another team win almost every race. Back in 2016, Toto Wolff was in Christian Horner’s position. However, now, there has been a role reversal.
Mercedes Boss Believes Ferrari And His Own Team Are Both Losers In 2023
Clearly, Red Bull dominated the year, winning 21 races out of 23, with the Emilia Romagna GP getting washed out. Only Ferrari was able to win a race in the Singaporean Grand Prix, with Carlos Sainz Jr claiming the top spot. The race in the Marina Bay circuit was a pretty close contest between George Russell, Lando Norris, Lewis Hamilton, and Carlos Sainz Jr. Hamilton was able to finish third, but Russell had a DNF at the end. That’s how unlucky Mercedes has been this year. Recently, Toto Wolff told the media, including, RacingNews365, that Ferrari and Mercedes have been losers in 2023 because of the sheer dominance of Red Bull.
The Mercedes boss added that the P2 finish is great for money and bonuses. On the other hand, the P3 finish is great for wind tunnel time. At present, Mercedes has 7% less wind tunnel time than Ferrari. If Toto Wolff’s team had finished third, they could have had 14% more wind tunnel time than the current champions. Anyway, Wolff knows people don’t get everything they want. Clearly, the Mercedes boss wants both wind tunnel time and the bonuses.
Only Time Will Tell If The New Setup Of The W15 Car Changes The Luck For Toto Wolff’s Team
The cost cap era started last year as Toto Wolff’s team saw a significant decline in their performance. From 2022 to this year, the German team managed only one Grand Prix win. They remained winless in 2023. But who can they blame for their failure? None other than themselves. There’s no one else for Mercedes and the team. The idea to introduce the zero side pod concept proved to be a major catastrophic decision. It caused the downfall of the German team.
The team that dominated the grid for eight years straight in the turbo-hybrid era is not able to win a single race two years later. It has been quite a shame for Toto Wolff and his team. They are struggling because the whole setup of their car caused several problems like too much bouncing and downforce-related issues. Hence, they already plan to change the whole setup ahead of the 2024 season. Will it make the German team more competitive? Only time can answer that.
