Wolff Describes All Things That Went Wrong With Mercedes Over Course Of Last Two Seasons

Tuesday, 30 January 2024 at 09:00

The team principal of the Mercedes Formula One team, Toto Wolff, named multiple things that Mercedes didn't get right in 2022 and 2023.

Mercedes won all the Constructors' Championships in the 2014-2021 seasons. The team also won all the Drivers' Championships in the same years except for 2021.

Going into 2022, the team felt great about having their own concept different from anyone else as they believed to have an edge. However, that did not turn out to be true.

In a recent interview with motorsport.com, the team principal of Silver Arrows, Toto Wolff, tried to explain how his team missed the mark in multiple aspects.

"We have fallen short of key components and performance. It's not only the car's behavior, but it's also, you look at the pitstops, they've been very oscillating."

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Mercedes being one of the top teams, people would expect it to have one of the best pit stops on the grid. But that was not the case in the last couple of seasons. Wolff asserted it isn't the fault of the team's mechanics.

"But it's nothing to do with the mechanics. They do a brilliant job. I think our equipment just wasn't up to the levels that are necessary, which we are sorting out."

If we look at the top team - Red Bull, the team has everything lined up perfectly to be able to achieve what they did in the last two seasons.

Starting from the power unit, through drivers, strategies, and pitstops, all the way to the aero package and the double DRS. Red Bull nailed every single aspect. Wolff continued:

"Our DRS is not working as it should. We have put wide sidepods on a car that was never designed to have wide sidepods. We had the odd strategic mishap."

While the last two seasons have been two of the least successful for Mercedes ever since the team joined F1 in 2010, Wolff doesn't lose hope in his team.

"When s**t hits the fan, s**t flies at you. You just got to believe in our organization. The days that we lose are the days we learn the most - and you dig deep."

The German team should make some significant changes in 2024. The first indications of their progress will be unveiled at their season launch on 14 February.