Toto Wolff claims Mercedes were FASTER than Red Bull at times in 2023

Christian Horner and Toto Wolff — Photo: © LAT Images

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Wolff claims Mercedes were FASTER than Red Bull at times in 2023

The Silver Arrows boss claimed they had the fastest car in Singapore

Chris Deeley

Sunday 10 December 2023 22:57

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Toto Wolff has claimed that Mercedes had a faster car than Red Bull at points this season, and revealed that the team's 2024 car will have as many different parts as physically possible compared to this season's edition.

Mercedes ended the season second in the constructors' championship, but didn't win a single race and finished a humbling 451 points behind Red Bull, with Ferrari snapping at their heels.

Wolff told media that although results 'didn't show' that Mercedes had the fastest car in Singapore (Lewis Hamilton finished third and George Russell crashed out from third in the final stages), the Silver Arrows had the advantage.

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Hamilton is now on a run of two full seasons without a win, with his team-mate claiming the team's only victory in that time - at the Brazilian Grand Prix in 2022.

Toto Wolff and co had a difficult season in 2023

George Russell was running well at the Singapore Grand Prix before crashing out

Carlos Sainz was the eventual winner of the Singapore Grand Prix

Wolff: The stopwatch never lies

"From a Team Principal's role, the sporting side has been tough, because last year, for a long-time, we didn't understand why our car was so bad, but this year, albeit it was not so much fishing in the dark, but we couldn't capitalise in terms of race results.

"I think particularly in Austin, we could have had a win, but we made mistakes, we had an off weekend in Brazil, where we can absolutely reconstruct what happened, and it is not what would happen to a top team.

"We also had the quickest car in Singapore - but the results don't show it, but it was a year of let's say moving forward with the car and understanding for next year.

"The stopwatch never lies, and we will see next year in Bahrain. [We will have] a different chassis, different aerodynamics, different characteristics, different suspension and everything that we can change, we [are going to] change.

"So far, the results in the virtual world are positive, but we need to be careful in terms of managing our expectations. We need such a step in order to catch up to fight for a championship, but obviously if you make a radical step, that means lots of new knowledge."

Red Bull Lewis Hamilton Mercedes Toto Wolff