Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff takes stock four races into the new F1 season and it looks particularly bad for Mercedes. They are far removed from the ambition to fight for the world title or even victories. Even second place in the championship seems unattainable with the current car.
Mercedes again underperformed in Japan with seventh place for George Russell and ninth place for Lewis Hamilton. Max Verstappen meanwhile drove very smoothly to another victory. The contrast between Red Bull and Mercedes could hardly be greater and that leads to hard conclusions for Toto Wolff.
“No one is going to be able to stop Max this year,” said Toto Wolff. “His driving and the car are spectacular. You see how he manages the tires and this season is already about being ‘best of the rest’.
“That is the battle we have to fight. Hopefully we can catch up with the McLarens and Ferraris and fight for second place. That is what this year is all about and last year was also about, last year we managed to finish second among the constructors.”
But to finish second this year, Mercedes will have to make a serious effort. The Mercedes W15 is not competitive enough to compete with Ferrari and McLaren, let alone Red Bull.
“If your expectation is to ultimately fight for race victories and championships, then you can say that we are in no man’s land because Max and Red Bull are very far away and we are in the pack,” Toto Wolff summarizes the situation in which Mercedes is located together.
“It’s not fun for any team to compete for places two, three and four. When you look at it from a purely sporting point of view it is first place that matters, not second, third or fourth, but that is the reality we find ourselves in at the moment.”
“We are trying to make the best of the new reality, which is to beat our competitors, while we know that someone is simply doing better and setting a new benchmark that we will then have to achieve ourselves.
“Our ambition is to win races this year and I don’t want to let that ambition go, especially not for next year.”
“There will be a big reset in 2026 and it will provide a more realistic chance for any team to beat Red Bull.”
“But there’s still a full season and three-quarters of a season ahead of us and I don’t want to suffer too much more over the next 18 months or so. I just hope for highlights and a trajectory where we make progress.”