Mercedes F1 team boss Toto Wolff believes the team is “eight to 10 months” behind Red Bull in terms of development after struggling in 2022.
The design of the Mercedes W13 was overly influenced by passes in the early rounds of the season and, once the problem was fixed, it now bounced mechanically. It also proved lagging behind in the high-speed sections of the circuit due to the high level of traffic.
As a result, Mercedes has not yet won a race in 2022, losing the Constructors’ Championship title it had held since 2014 to Red Bull.
Toto Wolff believes Mercedes faces an uphill battle towards the 2023 season after spending most of its time diagnosing and fixing problems with the W13.
Toto Wolff previously revealed that a decision made in October 2021 was the main cause of the Mercedes deficit in 2022. It is believed to be related to the floor design.
But while Red Bull has the upper hand, Mercedes F1 shows signs of coming back to the lead.
“Red Bull definitely have an advantage, but I think we understand where the gap comes from,” Worg told the media, including RacingNews365.com.
“Red Bull will take care of the sweet part of their car and we probably lost eight to ten months of development because we didn’t understand what was wrong with the car.”
“So there are certainly challenges, but we’re all playing for a long time.”
“Both drivers are fighting for the long haul. I don’t want to judge a team’s performance by just one weekend or year, but how they win the championship in the long run.”
Despite failing to win a race in 2022, Mercedes remains operationally and tactically strong, with only two retirements in the year. These were both the result of damaged early laps, with George Russell retiring in England and Lewis Hamilton in Belgium after contact.
With Ferrari stalled towards the end, Mercedes are now 40 points behind in the Constructors’ Championship with two races to go and a sprint in Brazil. .
Toto Wolff thinks second place among the constructors will be a “consolation”.
Asked about the prospect of finishing second in the standings, Wolff said: “It will definitely give some comfort.”
“Ferrari had the fastest car at the start of the season, so it’s nice to finish ahead of them, but it’s not our priority.
“Understanding the car and having a fast car on the track is our number one priority.”
Category: F1 / mercedes / Red Bull
