Can Wolff beat Red Bull with Mercedes in 2025? 'The same this year!'
F1 News
Toto Wolff seems to be keeping his cards very close to his chest before the 2025 Formula 1 season gets underway, saying there is "only so much" that Mercedes will be able to gain before the lights go out at the Australian Grand Prix. 2024 was a real rollercoaster of a season for the German team, and the Australian team boss will be hoping there is much more consistency in 2025 to challenge at the front of the grid.
Mercedes had some great weekends in the 2024 season, taking victories at the British, Belgian and Las Vegas Grands Prix. However, a struggle for consistency was their biggest issue, meaning they were unable to challenge at the front of the grid next to Red Bull and McLaren, something they haven't been able to do since the 2021 season.
The Austrian team boss, speaking to Sky Sports, was asked about the developments of Mercedes for the 2025 season. With his answer, Wolff seemed to be fairly cautious: "It’s the last year now, so there’s only so much you can gain. We’ve recognised where our car was weak in certain areas of cornering. Having said that, no one has really got on top of how to establish a basis that the car is fast at all the tracks," Wolff said in conversation with the British broadcaster.
Wolff expecting an exciting 2025
But even though Wolff says there are not a lot of developments that can be made from 2024 to 2025, the Austrian knows that this upcoming season could be the most competitive since thee German team battled for titles in 2021. The regression of Red Bull and the emergence of McLaren was a huge shock last season, and the battle between the two is more than likely to continue into 2025, along with a resurgent Ferrari and Mercedes.
"We have had astonishing performances, at Las Vegas we’ve crushed everyone from the first lap we went out until the end of the race. We were good at Silverstone, good at Spa, then not as good in other races. I think this year could be the same again with three, four, or five teams really close to each other, fighting, which is good news for the sport, but at the same time, balancing development for next year. It’s going to be quite interesting how the priorities are set," the Mercedes team boss concluded.
This article was created in collaboration with Estéban den Toom
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