While the Mercedes finished on the podium at the French Grand Prix, Toto Wolff remained disappointed by the performance.
Mercedes expected to return to the top at the French GP following the improvements in the British Grand Prix. Despite scoring a double podium finish, team boss Toto Wolff remained disappointed.
Wolff admitted that years of dominance in motorsport made them unprepared to face potential hurdles that might occur one day.
The Brackley-based team were struggling to find pace in the W13 at Circuit Paul Ricard. Wolff therefore no longer thinks that a win is still on the table for the team.
When the hard work pays off! 💪@LewisHamilton was elated with a P2 finish in his 300th race! 👊#FrenchGP #F1 @MercedesAMGF1 pic.twitter.com/C8tKEZxLJJ
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 24, 2022
Speaking to AFP after the French GP, the Austrian boss said, “before Paul Ricard, I would have said yes, now we wonder why we are a second behind Max Verstappen and six tenths behind Ferrari. We have a long way to go to be able to dream of victories.”
Wolff said that in F1 lap times never lie and given the data that the team has now, it became clear in France that Mercedes are not fast.
Giving up all hope on the chances to score a win or improve, 8-time constructors’ champions boss said, “We screwed up mechanically, we screwed up aerodynamically, it’s never just one thing.”
Toto Wolff picks his favourite in the 2022 title battle
After eight years of dominance in motorsport, Mercedes now seems to have taken a back seat in the championship battle.
Wolff is not focusing on the battle between Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc ahead of the Mercedes team. In doing so, the Austrian boss has picked his favourite in the championship battle.
He said, “Charles is an exceptional driver, a great personality, he deserves to win. I don’t know if it does him any good but if I could choose it would be him.”
Also Read: When Lewis Hamilton kept his promise to Valtteri Bottas at the 2017 Hungarian Grand Prix
