The Mercedes F1 team is going through a challenging phase and is unable to find any solution with their car. The team altogether, along with boss Toto Wolff enjoyed tremendous success throughout the turbo-hybrid era. They were clearly unbeatable from 2014 to 2020, as the team won all the driver’s and constructor’s titles. Mercedes even won the 2021 constructor’s championship. But Lewis Hamilton could not hold on to his grip till the end of the last lap of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in 2021. With that mistake, the new world champion emerged in the form of Max Verstappen. Since then, Mercedes is still struggling to win a single title coming to the 2023 season.
The one solitary victory Mercedes was able to achieve last year was in Brazil, with the young debutante George Russell behind the steering wheel. For the first time in his career, Lewis Hamilton finished a season without a single race win. That is how bad the W13 car has been. The W14 car does not look like a vast improvement that it is helping the team win any Grand Prix. Clearly, in the cost cap era, the Mercedes F1 team has not figured out the formula for the perfect car. That is why they are lagging so far behind the current reigning champions, the Red Bull Racing team. Meanwhile, the Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is getting frustrated with the poor quality of the car. Is that the reason for his departure from the Silver Arrows?
Why Toto Wolff May Consider Leaving Mercedes?
Recently, there are speculations floating around that Toto Wolff may consider leaving Mercedes. Although regarding the same, the boss mentioned that it (his departure) will depend on how they perform over the next races for him to start thinking about it. Mercedes’ boss proceeded to say, “if people close to me tell me that I’m not contributing enough, then I’ll pass the baton to someone else. I’ll not be ashamed. But now I’m not thinking about that because I enjoy leading this team.”
It is undoubtedly going to be an emotional departure for Wolff to leave the Brackley team. He and Mercedes had a rarest successful journey, winning eight consecutive constructor’s titles and seven successive driver’s championships. But it looks like their successful journey has come to an end as the Red Bull team is enjoying all the success in the cost cap era.
More Embarrassments Aligned For The Silver Arrows
Another embarrassing news for the Silver Arrows is that their long-time partner, Williams racing, is looking for an alternative. James Vowles, the former Mercedes chief strategist and the current team principal of Williams Racing, recently hinted that they are looking for an alternative partner. Although Aston Martin, after borrowing a lot of parts from the German team, is now second to Red Bull in the current F1 standings.
They borrowed the gearbox and rear, plus the wind tunnels, from the German team and have got better results. So the question remains what is so wrong with the Mercedes car? The popular opinion is that it is the car’s design that is causing all the trouble. They need to get the problem fixed as soon as possible, or else they will lose another year. Lewis Hamilton’s coveted eighth title is gradually becoming a distant dream due to the poor car of the German team.
