Mercedes Team Principal Names His 'Biggest Mistake In Recent Years'

Tuesday, 02 January 2024 at 20:00

Toto Wolff pinpointed his greatest mistake in recent years that led to Mercedes's unsuccessful seasons in 2022 and 2023.

As of 2024, Wolff is the Toto Wolff is the only team principal who won five consecutive double World Championships (both Drivers' and Constructors').

The Austrian team principal joined Mercedes in 2013 and led the team through one of the most successful eras Formula One has ever seen.

However, Mercedes's winning streak stopped completely in 2022 when the team failed to build the most competitive car on the grid and fell behind Red Bull.

Speaking to BILD, Wolff stated his biggest mistake in recent years has been the W13, which was the name of Mercedes's 2022 car. The W14, Mercedes's 2023 F1 car, was built based on the same concept.

“"The W13 was my biggest mistake in recent years. We took the wrong approach to building the car for the 2022 season, it wasn’t the correct path."”

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Everybody thought Mercedes chose the wrong path with their concept in 2022, but the team managed to dominate the Brazilian Grand Prix in Sao Paulo, which suggested there was potential in their car, just not properly unlocked.

“"Confirming this concept in 2023 was the second big mistake, but I defend this decision, given that we had won in Brazil."”

Based on the result from that weekend, Mercedes decided to continue pursuing the 2022 concept, which turned out to be the wrong decision in 2023. Wolff added:

“"Every team would have considered that weekend as a starting point for the new season. More than half of the team was convinced that the situation was improving."”

Mercedes's technical director, James Allison, lately said the direction that his team has taken was completely wrong from start to finish.

On the other hand, the German team is planning significant changes to their car ahead of the next season and still has a goal of challenging Red Bull for the Championship. Do you think they can achieve it?