Is Brain Drain The Reason Behind Lewis Hamilton\’s Defeat? Mercedes\’ Toto Wolff Reveals

Mercedes have struggled a lot during the early stages of the 2022 championship. The German manufacturer is struggling with their W13 car\’s porpoising issue. The Silver Arrows are clearly lagging behind the front runners Ferrari and Red Bull in terms of performance on the racing track. Moreover, the new turbo hybrid era has not started well for the Mercedes team, which has won the last eight constructors\’ championships. The early troubles have left the racing team falling behind in the championship battle. Thus, Mercedes desperately needs a quick turnaround to have an opportunity of taking the fight to the frontrunners this year. 

The German racing team\’s staffing structure has seen a lot of changes in recent years, including engine chief Andy Cowell\’s retirement. Further, the team\’s technical director James Allison also took up a new role. The changes gave rise to the speculations that a loss of key personnel could have resulted in a dip in the Silver Arrows\’ form this season. However, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff does not agree that change in the team\’s key brains is the reason behind the racing team\’s struggles. Wolff claims that the Silver Arrows have undergone a standard turnover experienced by all teams. 

Moreover, the Mercedes boss revealed that it was just a normal cycle where Rodd Brawn and Paddy Lowe decided to leave. Toto explained that the team still won six or seven championships after that. Further, Wolff pointed out that James Allison came in, and there have been a lot of others who left, including Andy Cowell\’s retirement. 

Wolff Pleased By The Presence Of Young & Highly Educated Brains At Mercedes

The team principal shared that Mercedes had not lost anyone, which proved counterproductive for the team. Toto Wolff also pointed out that more young guys have come up in the last few years and consistently made crucial operational decisions. Toto feels that the addition of youth to the racing team has proved to be positive. When Wolff walks around the campus, he feels motivated by young and highly educated minds who don\’t want to leave things as they are today. The Mercedes boss firmly believes that he could not imagine anyone better in the team than the squad that he has around him currently.

While talking about Mercedes\’s championship hopes, Wolff said he was not ready to say goodbye to the championship yet. He explained that not everything in F1 always follows the maths. Things change around quickly in F1, where a driver who finishes first/second on the track gets eliminated in the next. 

Furthermore, Wolff acknowledged that Mercedes have a huge gap to cover

and a tough journey ahead. However, the team principal aims to put the W13 reasonably straight on the track. If they pull it off, the team can end up among the frontrunners, even if the chances look bleak. The Silver Arrows would hope for a stronger performance from Lewis Hamilton and George Russell during the upcoming weekend\’s race in Miami on May 8th.