Yesterday at 12:00
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has delivered a frank assessment
of his team's struggles since the introduction of ground-effect
regulations in 2022, admitting the Silver Arrows has fundamentally
failed to master the current ruleset. After winning eight
consecutive constructors' championships between 2014 and 2021, the
team has struggled to recapture its previous heights. The contrast
with their hybrid-era dominance could hardly be starker, a period
where Lewis Hamilton claimed six drivers' titles and the team was
virtually unbeatable. Yet since ground-effect aerodynamics
returned, Mercedes has found itself fighting for podiums rather
than victories. The W13 of 2022 was plagued by severe porpoising
issues; the W14 remained inconsistent throughout 2023; and the W15
failed to deliver sustained competitiveness. It is a similar tale
of the W16, which has taken only one victory - courtesy of George
Russell - 14 rounds into the current campaign. "I think we never
excelled at managing those regulations," Wolff told Formula.hu , in
a damning indictment of their approach. "From the beginning, and I
think we started on quite a back foot. And then catching up to
great competitors is very difficult." 'We literally killed it...'
Wolff's comments highlight Mercedes' fundamental misunderstanding
of the new regulations from the outset. The team's initial focus on
their 'zeropod' design philosophy proved to be a dead end, forcing
them into a costly development cycle that consumed precious time
and resources while rivals like Red Bull and McLaren stole a march.
Still, Wolff was keen to point out moments where Mercedes has shown
flashes of its former capabilities. "But I will also be looking
back at many highlights," the Austrian added. "You know how we
literally killed it last year in Silverstone, last victory for
Lewis at the British Grand Prix. Dominant in Spa, absolutely
dominant in Las Vegas. "They were great highlights - and this year
in Montreal. We had, at times, a winning car. "And now for the
second part of this year, we need to come back to have a winning
car."
