Toto Wolff on McLaren dominance: 'Impossible to hold them'
F1 News
- Savannah Lenz
McLaren has been hailed as the team to beat since the end of last season, and The Australian Grand Prix has proved that thought. After starting on pole, Norris was able to make the right calls at the right time to ensure he finished first as well. After the race, Toto Wolff weighed in on McLaren’s performance.
Mercedes team principal and CEO Toto Wolff has described McLaren as "just in a league of their own.”
'Impressive to see'
Despite Mercedes finishing in third and fourth, Wolff admits they did not have a chance against McLaren.
He said, “It's impressive to see from, let's say, a fan standpoint, but as a competitor, we just need to deploy everything we have in our arsenal, in our armoury, to just try to catch them because when they go, they go and that was impossible to hold them.”
At one point in the race, the McLaren drivers had built up a 15-second gap to the rest of the grid. Wolff reflected on where he thinks McLaren was the most dominant. “They're just so good in tyre management.”
He said, “You push your tyres, and you can hold on for a lap or two. If you fall out of the window, then you cook them. They have just such a wide window that they're able to push, push, push on the tyre like no tomorrow.”
Mercedes and McLaren both currently have 27 points in the constructors championship standing after the Australian Grand Prix. While McLaren driver Norris was able to finish first, a costly mistake left Oscar Piastri in ninth place. Mercedes fared better, with George Russell finishing third and rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli finishing fourth.
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