Mercedes can extend “totally mad” record further – Wolff

Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff is confident the team can extend its record run of seven consecutive constructors' championships, despite concerns of a challenge from Max Verstappen and Red Bull next season.

Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas scored a fifth one-two finish of the season at the Emila Romagna Grand Prix on Sunday, collecting enough points to secure the title with four races remaining.

Wolff sees no reason why his team cannot make it at least eight in a row in 2021, although is wary of the constant threat posed by Verstappen and Red Bull

Wolff said: “It’s just a super proud moment with all these guys and being part of it. As long as we can stay motivated and energised, and you can see that with these guys, then I think we can push it further.

“There will be competition, no doubt, next year with Max and Honda trying to do a really good job towards the end of the season so we are looking forward to a new challenge.”

Despite only competing in 1954 and 1955 prior to its return to the grid in 2010, Mercedes now has 112 victories, just two behind third-placed Williams in the all-time victory tables that are led by Ferrari (238) and McLaren (182).

Victory in Imola was the team’s 100th since it began its title-winning run in 2014.

Wolff has revealed that while they would have been “totally mad” to target seven consecutive titles, they always aimed to get more than one.

“At the beginning of 2014, we took our senior leadership and we put a target on the wall," added Wolff.

"That target was to win a constructors' and drivers' world championship. And Aldo Costa [engineering director] said ‘I don’t think that’s ambitious enough. I think we should put we want to win multiple driver and constructor championships’.

“The discussion in the room was ‘We can’t possibly put that on the wall. It’s completely unrealistic as a target.’ Thank God we have it everywhere on the wall because it reminded us every year to just continue pushing the boundaries.”

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