Wolff sees additional challenge for Mercedes: 'Eight to 10 months lost'

Mercedes has shown in recent race weekends that it has made some great strides this season. For now, however, it has fallen short of a Grand Prix victory. The German formation hopes that this coming season it will, although Toto Wolff stated in conversation with Autosport.com that Red Bull Racing has a head start.

Due to new regulations, Formula 1 teams had to enter the grid with a significantly altered car this season. Several race teams suffered from porpoising in the process, causing the car to bounce around the track and causing the formation to lose a lot of time. Mercedes was one of those teams.

Wolff worked hard with the engineers to come up with a solution, but it was not easy. Indeed, the team boss tells Medium that it took months. "We've maybe lost eight to 10 months in terms of development because we couldn't figure out what was wrong," he explains.

Confidence at Wolff about Mercedes' form

However, he believes Mercedes has now found the right way. "We believe that we understand where the gap comes from," he said. In 2023, the Germans hope to be fighting for the world title again as a result, but Wolff acknowledges that with a strong season behind them, Red Bull will have a lot of confidence going into the new year. At the same time, he says he sees his team slowly getting closer.