Toto Wolff joked that the Mercedes-Benz museum in Stuttgart wouldn’t have a place for W13 because of its poor performances this season.
2022 has been a difficult year for Mercedes. The Silver Arrows dominated the sport for eight years in a row, but the regulation changes ahead of this season hit them hard. Red Bull and Ferrari have leapt in front of them in terms of pace this year.
They have still been hunting for podiums for most of the season but have yet to win a race. The team has struggled to attack the top two teams, especially during Qualifying.
The Silver Arrows progressed in the last few races before the summer break began. This gave fans hope that Mercedes could finally compete for wins regularly in the second half of the season.
So close to a podium but we’ll take being just two seconds away after yesterday. Race pace is strong – we won’t stop pushing for more. 👊 pic.twitter.com/ZMoQ0RDOII
— George Russell (@GeorgeRussell63) August 28, 2022
That wasn’t the case, as Mercedes once again showed signs of struggle last weekend. F1 action returned after a three-week summer break with the Belgian GP. Lewis Hamilton started the race in P4 (after a disappointing qualifying session) and George Russell started in P5.
The race itself did not go off to a great start after Hamilton’s first-lap collision with Fernando Alonso ended the former’s race.
Toto Wolff unhappy with the Mercedes W13’s performances
Russell put in a much better performance than Hamilton in Spa-Francorchamps last Sunday. Mercedes worked hard on developing the W13 over the summer break, and they expected it to perform a lot better.
On the contrary, it seemed like the gap to Red Bull increased as Max Verstappen was almost two seconds faster than Hamilton in Qualifying. This shocked Hamilton and Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff, who was not sure as to why they were lacking so much.
Ahead of the remaining eight races of the 2022 season, Wolff admitted that they’re not quite optimistic about their chances. He also slandered the W13’s performances, joking that the car won’t have a place at Mercedes’ museum in Stuttgart.
“I don’t think it will have a place at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart,” the 50-year-old said. Mercedes are currently third in the Constructors’ Championship Standings, 159 points behind first-placed Red Bull and 41 points behind second-placed Ferrari.
Also read: Moment when Max Verstappen won his and spoilt Charles Leclerc’s race at Belgian GP
