“There’s Another Team and Another Guy…”: Still a Battle to Be Won at Mercedes as Toto Wolff Puts a Target on Red Bull and Max Verstappen

Srijon Jana | 28/11/2023
“There’s Another Team and Another Guy...”: Still a Battle to Be Won at Mercedes as Toto Wolff Puts a Target on Red Bull and Max Verstappen

Despite all their struggles, Mercedes managed to end their season on a high as they finished P2 in the Constructors’ Championship by the smallest of margins. However, following the season finale, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff claimed on the F1 Nation Podcast that they still have quite a lot of work left because their main aim is to catch up with Red Bull and Max Verstappen.

After the Abu Dhabi GP, Tom Clarkson asked Wolff about his thoughts regarding Mercedes’ achievement of claiming P2. Wolff immediately showcased his relentless spirit and made it clear that finishing second just reminds his side that they failed to win.


Damon Hill then asked him if the second place brought him any kind of satisfaction or not. Wolff explained that it does bring him and the team quite a bit of satisfaction. Finishing P2 means that the team achieved their goal for the final race weekend and that is definitely a positive point for their entire side.

However, Wolff also claimed that this is just a short-term emotional boost for the team, as their main aim still remains unfulfilled. Wolff said, “P2 sounds good, but there’s another team and another guy that won 19 races.” 

The 51-year-old then made it absolutely clear that the main aim for Mercedes right now is to get on the same level as that of Red Bull and they won’t rest until they achieve that goal.

Toto Wolff claims that the disappointing W14 is an important car

Toto Wolff has been very upfront with the fact that Mercedes have failed to live up to their expectations in 2023. He acknowledged the fact that the W14 turned out to be even worse than last year’s car. However, the Austrian yet wants to use this as a learning tool instead of trying to forget about the disappointing season.

Talking to Sky Germany after the race, as reported by GP Fans, Wolff said, “My first reaction is always that I want to push the car into a corner somewhere, but these two cars are important.” He explained further, ” These cars are important in a way that you remember how quickly you can get it wrong.”


Wolff explained that the 2022 challenger is important for them because the car was supposed to be really fast as per the simulations. However, reality turned out to be completely different. Wolff still claims that despite the shortcomings, the W13 was important to understand for their long-term development plans.

He then concluded by stating that Mercedes has always been able to finish in the top three places in the last ten years, and that might seem like a good statistic a few years down the line. However, for Wolff, nothing less than winning will satisfy him.

Post Edited By: Vidit Dhawan
Max Verstappen Mercedes Red Bull Toto Wolff

About the author

Srijon Jana

Srijon Jana is a Formula 1 writer at The SportsRush. As a medical undergrad with a passion for motorsports, Srijon loves juggling between cadavers and cars with ease. He started watching F1 when he was only 11, and the beautiful cars grabbed his interest. Even now, he religiously follows all the Grands Prix, and when he is not gushing over Charles Leclerc, he likes to dabble in football as well. He is a college quizzer with several state-level and national-level accolades. He is a proud Ferrari fan, and loves to pass his free time reading, watching movies, and spending some quality time with his friends and family.

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