It is clear as crystal that the Mercedes F1 team is still not there where they can beat the table toppers. Currently, the combination of Max Verstappen and Team Red Bull is untouchable. They are on a whole other level, as their RB19 car is the fastest and seems unbeatable. Although, their other driver Sergio Perez has been struggling with consistency. But the team believes that with the RB19 car’s technology, there is hardly any reason not to be on the podium. Nonetheless, the Mexican is under a lot of pressure after his inconsistency is catching fans’ eyes.
But it seems there is no stopping Max Verstappen. He has already won eight out of ten races so far. With this success rate, the Red Bull ace would likely break his own record for most wins in a season, which he accomplished last year. There is also a chance that Max can help Red Bull win all the races this year. If that happens, it will be a historic season in the F1 sport. However, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff believes they can beat their counterparts. He believes that they have the right people in the team to do so and has full confidence in the engineers and the two drivers. But this is high time for the Brackley team to start focusing on the next year’s car soon. Apparently, Wolff says they may have no other choice.
It Might Be High Time For Mercedes To Shift Focus On 2024’s Car
The Mercedes boss feels obliged that they need to provide their drivers, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, with a championship-winning car. Apparently, Hamilton has been winless since last year, as the German team has won a solitary race since last year in Brazil. The former William’s racer Russell impressed fans with his maiden win in his debut season for Mercedes in the Brazilian Grand Prix. And in the current season, Mercedes has managed to get only five podium finishes. The only double podium came in the Spanish Grand Prix with a two-three finish for Hamilton and Russell.
Hence, Mercedes may have to start thinking about shifting focus to the 2024 season’s car concept now. They must take all the information from the current season and not make the same mistakes next year. Moreover, the team has already found the right direction to move towards. Toto Wolff also mentioned that they may not have any choice but to start planning on the next year’s car. But the goal is to decrease the gap between Red Bull and them as much as possible. The Mercedes boss feels that there is still a bit of hope with the Mercedes W14. With the current year’s car, they can still have a shot to beat Max Verstappen at least once.
Toto Wolff Still Has Faith In W14
According to Toto Wolff, “All we need to do is to change the design a bit. Take it from McLaren’s MCL60. An RB19 lookalike. Similar side pods.” But Mercedes’ boss also acknowledged that the cost cap restrictions hampered their season. Due to the cost cap restrictions, the team had to go through wind tunnel reductions.
However, McLaren did not have to go through that. But Toto Wolff believes that at the end of the day, it depends on putting good engineering and decisions well together. If the Mercedes team can design the car the right way after covering the wind tunnel and simulations, Wolff feels they are set.