Toto Wolff: There is no “crystal ball” to predict Mercedes’s return

Last week, Mercedes unveiled their 2024 rival to the world. Will it be the vehicle that ends Red Bull’s winning streak and wins the race?

Indeed, Mercedes is eager to get started building their new vehicle for 2024, which will be called the W15. However, Team Principal Toto Wolff is not planning on taking on Red Bull in the Constructors’ Championship race.

Wolff acknowledges that Mercedes, which previously won in 2021 before the present aerodynamic regulations were implemented, will have to make significant progress in the 2019 season to have any chance of contending in the rankings.

Both Red Bull and three-time World Champion Max Verstappen have broken record after record since the present regulations were implemented in 2022. Wolff acknowledges that the Silver Arrows will need to put forth a fervent effort to make amends with the Milton Keynes-based team this season.

Despite Red Bull’s overwhelming advantage, the Mercedes team’s manager acknowledges that his team’s opportunities are extremely limited, but the Brackley-based team remains optimistic about their prospects.

“When you fall, you get back up,” Wolff is quoted as saying by F1.com. “And that is what I have learned most in the last three years: it’s about the ability to recognise the learning when we fail to meet our objectives, and this is the key to long-term success.

“We hate losing, and that drives us. But that does not mean that we can’t enjoy the challenge we have in front of us, working through our problems and what we need to do as a team. That is all part of the development.”

‘No miracles’ in F1

Wolff is aware that Mercedes needs to maintain realism about their chances of beating the Austrians, given Red Bull’s lead over the last two seasons.

“On one hand, you need to be realistic about the odds of beating a team that is a fair chunk ahead under these regulations, and who got things right over the last two seasons whilst we have not,” said Wolff.

“There are no miracles in the sport. On the other hand, our ambition is strong. It is Red Bull and a very successful car that are the benchmark we are aiming to beat. I do not know when that will happen, we do not have any crystal ball. But we will know soon enough how far ahead they are and the task in front of us,” Wolff concluded, referring to this week’s pre-season test in Bahrain which gets underway on Wednesday.

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F1, F1 2024, FIA, Formula 1, Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton, Toto Wolff