08/05/2025 07:25
Toto Wolff believes Mercedes is not "Bambi in the headlights," as
he detailed a McLaren example he feels should be followed. Mercedes
has enjoyed its strongest start to the ground-effects era this
season, with 141 points from six races and four podiums for George
Russell, whilst Kimi Antonelli also bagged Sprint race pole in
Miami. Currently sitting in second place in the constructors'
championship, the team is only behind McLaren, who has been
challenging at the head of the F1 field ever since a major upgrade
was delivered in the summer of 2023. The successful upgrade
transformed it from a midfield runner to leading contender,
resulting in title success last year. Mercedes has struggled in the
ground effects era, but Wolff insists the team is not "Bambi" -
referring to the Disney character Deer, famous for its wobbly
balance and high-pitched voice as he pointed to McLaren's example.
"I think if you put a lot of emphasis on how you develop the car
mechanically, then you will have an advantage," Wolff told media,
including RacingNews365. "Two years ago in Austria, [McLaren]
brought an update which was much better than they expected, and
part of the development since then has been nurturing the tyres in
the right way. "We just need to be better, to understand and need
to find out where we need to focus our attention in terms of
development and what the main performance contributors are and if
we are completely on it. "So it is not like we are Bambi in the
headlights, we are on it and we are in there, we're just trying to
find out. We are experimenting and definitely going to be able to
challenge."
