Toto Wolff warns the newcomers of tough competition as the stakeholders are close to finalising the new power units.
The F1 stakeholders are yet to finalise the introduction of a new generation of power units into the sport. But, it is well-known that the new power unit will drop the MGU-H element, which is the most complicated component.
This will serve as an encouragement to VW to enter the sport. As VW was keen to eliminate that component to have more road-relevant power mills while also cutting the cost of production and design.
Mercedes did not favour removing the MGU-H as they have heavily invested in it over the years. Mercedes F1 team boss Toto Wolff said, “It’s great we have strong OEMs that are showing an interest in coming to our sport.”
“Obviously none of these major car companies want to come in and face a situation where they are highly uncompetitive.”
Furthermore, Wolff warned the potential newcomers of not expecting immediate success in the sport. Since apart from Mercedes, all the other car manufacturers initially struggled with the new turbo-hybrid technology.
Wolff said, “Formula 1 is the Champions League and nobody can expect to enter the Champions League for the first time and go straight into the final and go home with the biggest trophy.”
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Toto Wolff claims newcomers misunderstand the sport
Mercedes have been in the sport for a long time. They have invested a lot of money, sweat, blood and [suffered] terrible results to reach where they are.
However, Wolff believes that the new manufacturers misunderstand the sport. He explained that everything needs time and balance. “Everybody needs to recognise you can’t just come and conquer, you need to give it time.”
“Look at Mercedes’ history in the first five years of us being a works team, the terrible Honda days they faced, the Renault days,” Wolff recalled. “Everybody has had to fight their way up in order to eventually win races and championships.”
Furthermore, he explained that throwing money at problems is not the right approach. Time and patience are the two primary ingredients for success.
He claims that in the past, that’s what many OEMs have misunderstood. “If you look at Toyota, BMW and Honda, all the money, all the resources are irrelevant if you don’t give the project enough time.”
“Everybody who joins F1 as a team or as a power unit manufacturer misunderstands this needs time. The fact that it is not easy to win makes the sport so attractive,” he further added.
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Newcomers vs incumbents
The 49-year-old Austrian has been with Mercedes since 2013 and has enjoyed fame during their utterly dominant streak since 2014.
He said that so many details for the 2025 power units are yet to be finalised. Wolff highlighted, “We all agree on the sustainability concept going forward but what needs to be defined is the detail – newcomers versus incumbents and various other parameters.”
And then concluded, “but the global concept is clear and we are already far advanced into the discussions of the regulations but we are not there.”
Even though Mercedes set a benchmark in the turbo-hybrid era since day one, they have a hard time in the 2021 world championship. Mercedes field-leading power mills are proving to be fragile, with Valtteri Bottas using six internal combustion engines.
This has created problems for the seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, as Red Bull’s Max Verstappen is 12 behinds ahead of him in the drivers’ championship.
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