In the past two years, Mercedes have confronted various challenges, initially dealing with porpoising issues and later being hindered by an inaccurate setup. However, amidst this adversity, team boss Toto Wolff harbors a glimmer of optimism. The 51-year-old draws encouragement from the team’s standout performance at the Singapore Grand Prix.
As quoted by F1 Maximaal, Wolff told international media, “We also had the fastest car in Singapore. However, this was not reflected in the results.” The Austrian boss’s remarks appear accurate as both Mercedes drivers showcased their best at the Marina Bay street circuit.
During the race, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell actively sought podium positions. However, due to Russell’s bid to win the race, his last-lap crash led to a disappointing conclusion, turning his Singapore Grand Prix into a DNF. Nevertheless, the twist of fate benefited Lewis Hamilton, who finished P3 to secure a podium.
Nevertheless, despite enduring a challenging season, Wolff has now disclosed his optimistic outlook for the future. Wolff described the team’s plan for creating a new vehicle, which will be derived from the lessons learned during the previous times of difficulty.
He said, “We will have a different chassis, different aerodynamics, different characteristics, different suspension, and everything we can change, we will change.”
How challenging has the 2023 season been for Toto Wolff and his team?
The 2023 F1 season posed inherent challenges for Toto Wolff and his team from the outset. This was a consequence of the Silver Arrows dealing with diverse challenges associated with porpoising in the preceding year. These issues restricted their capacity to thoroughly investigate other aspects of the newly engineered W-14.
Consequently, Mercedes persisted with an inaccurate car setup, a situation that Lewis Hamilton was eager to address and get rid of. During the last race weekend of the season, Hamilton said, as quoted by PlanetF1, “It’s just a very unpredictable car. It’s been the same all year. I wouldn’t say that I’m relieved. I’m definitely happy it’s nearly over. It’s more inconsistent than ever before. It’s just up and down.”
But it wasn’t like Mercedes didn’t realize the W-14 wasn’t the best option for them. Even though he had informed the team of the problems, Hamilton accused them of disobeying his warnings about the car’s faulty concept. The Briton made similar remarks in an interview for the BBC Chequered Flag podcast. He said, “Last year, there were things I told them. I said the issues that are with the car.”
Nevertheless, despite initially overlooking Hamilton’s advice, Mercedes ultimately took his perspective into account and responded by bringing James Allison back into the team. Therefore, upon James Allison assuming the position, he promptly initiated the rebuilding of the team to secure the championship.
However, with the season concluded, the current technical director of the team has unveiled a sobering reality about F1’s off-season. In a discussion with Performance People Allison said, “It’s a commonly mistaken idea that the season ends and then you can take a break. Everyone in this sport knows that the season never ends and the break never comes.”
