Mercedes boss Toto Wolff in dilemma about P2 in the World Championship
F1 News
- Ludo van Denderen
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."