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Mercedes Formula One team boss Toto Wolff has admitted that he is not prepared to make any bold promises for the upcoming Formula 1 season. Despite significant progress, the Silver Arrows are simply unsure of how much of an advantage they have built up over the winter break and whether they have closed the gap at all to Scuderia Ferrari and Red Bull Racing.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1 ahead of the 2023 campaign, Wolff revealed that he had spent 15 minutes contemplating the wording of a press release, in order to convey Mercedes’ state of mind heading into the new season.
Wolff explained that he wanted to avoid overpromising and to stay humble and realistic about the team’s chances.
“On one side, you want to say we will be competitive,” he said.
“On the other side, you need to stay humble and realistic. So you could be saying, I hope that we will be competitive. And the midway roundhouse is, we will be competitive. We just don’t know when. And that was the ‘eventually’.”
Navigating uncertainty
Wolff’s comments are a reflection of the uncertainty surrounding the 2023 season. Last season marked a significant shift for Mercedes, who had previously enjoyed eight years of uninterrupted success. However, in 2022, the Brackley-based team faced a number of challenges that prevented them from performing at the same level as in the past. Porpoising issues plagued the W13, while fierce competition from Ferrari and Red Bull meant that Mercedes had to work harder than ever to remain competitive. As a result, the team found themselves in an unfamiliar position, watching from the middle of the pack as their rivals battled it out for the championship – at least in the first half of the season.
“I think we are on the slope that we wanted to be on in terms of our performance but then you don’t know where the other ones are,” said Wolff.
“I think humility is most important. We’ve always tried to be humble.
“Especially after last year, we need to remind ourselves that we were quite far off for a long time in the season.”
Mercedes endured a brutally difficult 2022 campaign, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen winning the Drivers’ Championship and his team taking the Constructors’ title. The Silver Arrows were unable to match Red Bull’s pace and struggled with severe porpoising issues. The W13’s reliability and George Russell’s driving is what ultimately helped the team from looking like a complete embarrassment last year.
Despite the setbacks, Wolff is confident that Mercedes can bounce back and challenge for the top honours in 2023. However, he stressed the importance of staying grounded and not making any rash predictions.
“We’re not going to overpromise anything,” he said.
“We’re going to try to do our best and that’s it. We’ll see where that takes us.”
As the season approaches, F1 fans will be eagerly anticipating the pre-season testing in Bahrain starting on Thursday the 23rd. Whether Mercedes can regain their dominance or not, one thing is for sure – the team will be approaching the season with a cautious amount of optimism and a healthy dose of humility.