Apparently, the golden period of Formula One team Mercedes was from 2014 to 2021. Toto Wolff joined the team in 2013 as their principal, and so did Lewis Hamilton as their brand new driver. And both of them the following year, with the advent of the turbo-hybrid era, changed the history of the team. The German team became the most successful team in Formula One, and Toto became the most successful team principal. Not only that, Lewis Hamilton became the most decorated F1 racer in history.
But all great things come to an end at some point. Mercedes last won the constructor’s title in 2021 but lost the driver’s world championship to Red Bull. Since then, all the good luck and fortune seem to be working for the Milton Keynes team, Red Bull Racing. The last year was once again a disaster for the German team. Due to their W13 car, the team struggled to win more than a Grand Prix. And similarly, the ongoing season is unable to feature the team’s dominance due to their struggle to design a strong Formula One car like Red Bull
Toto Said He Can Retire With No Shame If Can’t Contribute
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff recently talked about how long he would like to continue as the boss of this struggling team. The Austrian mentioned that he is still very fond of his job as the boss of the Mercedes F1 team. But if someday the team says that he is not doing his job as well as expected, then the billionaire CEO would love to pass the baton on to someone more deserving.
“I think I can contribute. But, if one day I come to the conclusion or people that are close to me are going to tell me that I’m not [contributing], then I will consider giving the baton to somebody else,” announced Mercedes Boss Toto Wolff.
Wolff is still hopeful that Mercedes can get back to the title contention this year or perhaps the following year. It is a matter of time till the engineers and the team solves the issues and build the perfect car for their drivers. Toto Wolff also acknowledged the support of the other shareholders of the Mercedes F1 team, like in INEOS. He also revealed that Jim Ratcliffe and Ola Kallenius have been very supportive of the team in this challenging phase.
How Much Mercedes Is Lagging Behind Red Bull?
The beloved Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton is still looking for his eighth title. But there is no sign that he will get it anytime soon. During the preseason testing of the current year, it looked like Mercedes had solved the previous year’s problems. However, as it turns out, the team got whole new issues this season. Again, Mercedes looks out of title contention. After the first two races of the season, the gap between the arch-rivals Red Bull and Mercedes is gradually increasing. Mercedes has a long way to catch up to the title favorites.
The RB19 car has proved to be the best on the grid. On the other hand, Mercedes is struggling a lot with the W14 car yet again. Toto Wolff mentioned that the opening race of the season was like the worst day of his life. Many questions that the rich Mercedes team is suffering due to the new era of a cost cap. In the previous turbo-hybrid period, only the rich teams had a chance to dominate the grid. But in the cost cap era, all the teams have an equal opportunity to challenge for the title.