Toto Wolff regards his $135 million operations as ‘Manic Depressive’ amidst 2023 woes

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has said that it is not advisable to make quick-fire changes to the rules and regulations of the sport just because there is a lack of entertainment during the races. He feels that the governing body must be very prudent and analyze all possible parameters before suggesting any changes to what is already present.

This 2023 Formula 1 season has seen Red Bull running away with wins with ease up until now. They are way ahead of the other teams in terms of performance. Plus, many feel that Red Bull has what it takes to win all 22 races this season. It seems like F1 is seeing another one-team domination, only this time it is Red Bull, not Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes.

Nothing but hugs for another 1-2 🥰 pic.twitter.com/Kek1146c9l

— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) May 12, 2023

In the recent races, there has been much talk about the F1 races not being entertaining enough. The regulation changes in 2022 were meant to bring about much closer racing. While the first year did some amount of close racing, it does not seem to be the case anymore. Almost all the teams have made leaps in the development of their respective cars. 

Toto Wolff advises taking things slowly

Toto Wolff has told the media all aspects of the sport should be considered before proposing a change. As reported by RacingNews365 He said,

“In this sport, we tend to be manic depressive, from exuberance to depression. When things are going well, then it’s great, then we have a race that’s not so great, and obviously, then we talk about it.”

Toto explained that the media tends to take many things out of context, just for the sake of creating headlines. Instead, one should wait and try to identify if there is a pattern being formed.

“Whether overtaking is more difficult or not? Are the 20 cars in a second? Is that the right thing to do to have or not? And are we creating too much downforce through the floor?”

This moment between Toto and Lewis pre-GP. ❤ pic.twitter.com/tDeoFjL1Ak

— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) May 10, 2023

There are no right answers to these questions according to Toto. Therefore, the only way forward is to find a baseline and then improve things from there.

Toto Wolff himself had asked for rule changes

Even though Toto has spoken aplenty about quick-fire rule changes, he himself wanted the rules to be altered after the ‘boring’ race of the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. He said that tough battles are needed in Formula 1. Currently it is difficult to overtake even if a driver is only 0.2 seconds behind.

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton  also claimed that changes are due in F1, to reduce the dominance of Red Bull and Verstappen. Hamilton, quite ironically, feels that such a huge advantage for any team is bad for the sport in general.