Toto Wolff experienced a tough season with Mercedes. The German formation hoped to compete for the world title again this race year, but had to settle for a place in the sub-top of the driver field. According to Wolff, however, there are also positives to this calendar year's situation.
From 2014, Mercedes managed to keep the competition far behind almost every year. Where Max Verstappen did manage to take the world title in 2021, it was again Mercedes that managed to build the best car.
Wolff noticed in those years that things went on autopilot, taking the edge off. This season, the team suddenly faced car problems and had to work hard behind the scenes to help George Russell and Lewis Hamilton.
"I am sure this a difficult year was necessary to re-motivate and re-energise the organisation," Wolff assessed in conversation with the BBC. "This has made us come back down to the ground, made us appreciate how it feels when you win."
Wolff does not underestimate competition
Next season, Mercedes hopes to return to the top. At the same time, Wolff knows this will not be easy. "You need to acknowledge that the competition is strong but we will do everything in our power, everything to set our objectives high and try to reach them."
moderators after my head here.because of one man, and I realized he is free to entertain them now
The FIA must always be very careful with giving penalties to Hamilton. They might be considered racists, if they do.
Cant see Lewis finishing the any year ahead of George until he retires. George is still improving and already a better driver. If Mercedes becomes the fastest car it will be George leading the way for Mercedes. Don't worry about that.
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Wolff wants world title: 'We will do everything in our power' George you been called up!!!
I think he is relying on his friends at FIA to pull off this miracle. There is no way Redbull and Ferrari are losing their one year jumpstart on equal grounds.
Mercedes is heavily relying on FIA to get them there. Enough rules have already been changed in 2022 and 2023 for that to happen.
Yes 2023 will be a competive year for Mercedes and I see Ferrari and Redbull equally competitive. Mercedes had a difficult 2023 year, and Toto has mentioned they have realized what was the issue with the w13. I suspect its the suspension and the ride height. With the advantage of extra windtunnel time and a year of testing I expect the W14 to be a quick car. With Lewis being beaten this year by George, he will.be motivated for a solid 2023 and George will be equally motivated to repeat this amazing feat. What we do know is Mercedes has strong driver pairing for 2023. I am looking forward to 2023.
so you're saying, Mercedes build a bad car so the fia had to adapt the rules so they could become more competitive?? and you also say Lewis will be motivated in 2023, so he wasn't in 2022?? well,I knew it
Perfectly said..... Mercedes and FIA are doing all they can to get Lewis his 8th title.
What do you think about George beating Lewis in his first year in Mercedes? Enjoyed the schooling?
We have a future WDC in Russell, Mercedes is in safe hands . What do you think about Russell?
@Vegan We still need to see how he can handle himself under pressure. Because there are many excellent drivers, but if under pressure they cannot bring out the best in themselves, then they are not for the top and great results. It definitely has quality, but it's not the same to drive without pressure and with. That is the small difference that is needed, we will see, it has yet to be proven.
Whatever. When the pressure comes with the fight for the championship and huge expectations, you have to be perfect in every race, without mistakes. That's different, he hasn't tried it yet.
We could have a Lec on our hands, but I don't think so. The years at Williams and this season has shown he is more than capable of doing it and handling pressure. What I would say is a negative is he needs to not make so many snap decisions on strategy, they luckily they have worked for him thus far ?
Hamilton showed fairly early that he could win races in a rocketship __ by the time that he was Max's age , he had won 12 Grands Prix already . Give him again a car that's 2 seconds faster than anything else and he may win again .
Or at the minimum, an email has been in the drafted state for months.
Toto already focussed on 2023 with no secret Lewis obviously his priority gaining his 8th. He has a few obvious obstacles to overcome, one being George Russell. The only time George won a race in 2022 Toto was not present. Coincidence? Probably.
Don’t complicate things and look for an agenda that is not there, just look at what happened. 1. Russell got lucky with Friday qualifying due to him string a time then going off while other top 10 drivers were still on qualifying laps. If he hadn’t of brought out the red flag & got lucky with the weather he probably wouldn’t have started 3rd. 2. In the main race if the Lewis hadn’t of had the collusion with Max then George would not of finished 1st. Lewis was consistently faster during the race until the last SC and if it wasn’t for dropping back down the field & having to drive back through the field he would have comfortably overtaken George & probably won the race. Sometimes luck plays a big part of motorsport & George has had a lot of luck this season. That’s not to say George isn’t a decent driver but lewis sacrificed a lot this season especially in the first half experimenting & developing the car for future gains & also fell unlucky a lot of times due to various scenarios. If the development gains are as good as Mercedes hope then lewis will have the measure of George over the season.
A wise man said. "in life, you make your own luck", by being at the correct place at the correct time and to grab the opportunity when it comes your way. There is no way for one driver to have that much bad luck for the whole year, while his team mate is blessed with only getting all the good luck! Talents have definitely come into play as well for us to have the kind of results that we have seen between George and Hamilton this season. Finishing in P5 or better in all but 2 races for the whole year is definitely more skills than just pure luck!
Joff, at least you are a glass full kind of person, but time to face realism, George is the better of the Merc drivers!!
Don't waste your energy here man…. They can do this all life long and wont even give a second to understand what u said ??
How delusion are you.your entire paragraph is full of bias. You entire fantasy is based on IFS AND BUTS Russell didnt get lucky with qualifying. Watch it again before you twist facts. Engineers both told Russell and Lewis to push because they might just get 1 lap and that is precisely what happened. Lewis was too slow, so luck has nothing to do with it. Lewis should have given more room to Max if he wanted to fight for the win. FACT IS he got 0 wins this year. FACT IS george destroyed Lewis in his first year at Mercedes. Expect more thrashing next year, if toto will allow it And what about Georges bad luck in Silverstone and other circuits. you didnt mention that!
George had an amazing race, he did not put a foot wrong the whole time. Did he get lucky in qualifying yes but did he get lucky in the sprint... no as he worked for his P1, you cannot compare someone moving up the field and someone who is leading as it is 2 different strats as one needs to manage his pace and tyres while the other has to try blast up the field as fast as possible. Lewis had 10 laps in the end to force a mistake or overtake George and George soaked in that pressure and won the race, the disrespect you show George just to make you feel better about Hamilton is terrible he kept a world class driver behind him for 10 laps to take his first win and did not make a single mistake, he deserves recognition not a nobody like you saying Lewis would have beat him if it werent for the crash, its a joke as George had the lead and he drived like a beast.
Mercedes-FIA has already done enough to get Lewis his hollow 8th for 2023. Hopefully Ferrari and RB will deliver their best to deny this farce
Do you think that Wolf is a Nostradamus of F1 to foresee that George will win Brasil? This is a stupid insinuation !
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