Mercedes boss Toto Wolff in dilemma about P2 in the World Championship
With eventual second place in the constructors' standings, Mercedes finally maximised the 2024 season. But second is not first, and that is the place the Germans were used to occupying for years. Moreover, Mercedes could not win a single Grand Prix in the year dominated by Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing.
It has been since 2011 - when Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher still drove for the team - that no title and no race was won. In that particular season, by the way, it was even worse than in 2023: not even a podium finish was in the cards then. In any case, Mercedes managed to make it to the podium eight times this year, with second and third place for Lewis Hamilton and George Russell probably the highlight.
Red Bull Racing was so dominant in 2023 that the team won no fewer than 21 out of 22 Grands Prix. The one race that failed to return home with the main trophy was in Singapore. There, Carlos Sainz won with his Ferrari. The Italians were engaged in a fierce battle with Mercedes for second place among constructors until the last moment and ended up three points short.
Dilemma for Toto Wolff
Toto Wolff was faced with a sporting dilemma after the Grand Prix. If the Mercedes team boss had been allowed to choose, what would he have preferred: winning a Grand Prix or second in the constructors? The Austrian responded to GPblog.
"Both losers. It's better P2 for the money and for the bonuses of the people. It's better P3 for the wind tunnel time. They [Ferrari] have 7% more than us now and we would have had 14% more than Red Bull. You can't get what you want [the title], so you want the bonuses and the more wind tunnel time."
It was very important for Toto, if he could not win the first place, to win the second place, and everything else would be a failure for the board of directors and shareholders. More time in the aerodynamic tunnel is not important to him, the global picture is the most important.
Was a tough choice as it is basically choosing more money(which Merc do not really need lets be real) and image of making progress and being there at the top VS gaining more wind tunnel time to better their car next season. If it were up to me I think they should have gone wind tunnel time as if they really are changing their car concept again they are going to need all the wind tunnel time they can get. But I do see why they wanted second as it looks better and better for sponsors/business related agenda's.
Of course, next season would tell if more tunnel time favoured Ferrari or less tunnel time will impede Mercedes' development.
I think RB will be very much out of reach next season or at least Max will be(I hope this is not the case as want to see action) but I think we are going to see some great fights between Ferrari and Merc next season. They are very even machinery and I think they will both be on their A game so might be a good battle between those 2 teams.
I get what you mean and it makes sense but it would feel a little unsportsmanlike to me to NOT do the best you can in order to get a bit more tunnel time. I am glad they raced as hard as they could, that's what an F1 team should always do.
Fully agreed and very respectable of them to do so. However in F1 it seems like it keeps getting turned into more of a business than a sport, over the years it has just slowly been losing that and it is scary. Unfortunately it starts becoming a thing of thinking more tactically rather and what would get you the furthest as if it were a business. But I know what you mean and as I say I do have respect for what Merc did in no way am I hating on them, was just discussing what would have been best for them as the article was asking.
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