Wolff wary of keeping too much focus on 2020

Mercedes

Wolff wary of keeping too much focus on 2020

Mercedes are keeping more than half an eye on the 2021 regulation changes

Sam Hall

Sunday 16 February 2020 11:00

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Toto Wolff has stressed the difficulties of maintaining a championship charge while also needing to keep a close watch on what will happen in 2021 with the drastically changed regulations.

For most teams, the 2020 Formula One cars are a direct evolution of their 2019 entries. Relatively stable regulations mean that all of the data gathered across the past year can go into making the best possible car and, normally in this instance, the field closes up.

Having extracted the maximum from the W10, Wolff says that this success has made gains harder to find with the W11 and subsequently, the effort taken to be successful in 2020 may have a knock on effect into 2021.

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"2020 is an evolution of the current regulations and the gains will be smaller, so you need more time and effort to keep improving your car," said Wolff. "On the other hand, the 2021 regulations are so very different that you need a lot of time to prepare for them.

Hamilton comfortable in the W11Read more

"It's a massive challenge," said Toto. "We had a lot of regulatory changes in recent years, but this time we're effectively tackling a two-year project. Trying to get this right will make 2020 the most difficult season, but it is also an amazing opportunity."

Having dominated the sport since the introduction of the V6 turbo-hybrid power units in 2014, both driver Lewis Hamilton and team boss Toto Wolff have praised the team for their constant, unrelenting enthusiasm to continue with their success.

Wolff added, "This team has shown time and again that it loves being challenged and we will face this one with the same passion and determination that has made Mercedes so strong in recent years."

Mercedes completed their filming day at Silverstone when launching the W11 and both Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas were given a portion of the limited permitted track time.