Wolff concedes odds are against Mercedes in championship race

Toto Wolff fears the odds are against Mercedes in the battle to retain its championship crown after seven years of dominance.

For the first time since 2013, Mercedes has gone five races without an F1 victory with current championship-leaders Red Bull taking to the top step on each occasion.

Now 44 points adrift in the constructors' race and with Lewis Hamilton also trailing Max Verstappen by a margin of 32 points in the drivers' standings, Wolff conceded the position in which Mercedes finds itself.

“I think we lost more ground in previous races than we did [in Austria]," said Wolff, determined to focus on the positives from the Red Bull Ring.

"Of course, losing 13 points or 14 points is not great but this is still the long game.

“It is against the odds for us now and this is clear because they have an overall performance advantage.

“But it is what I said before, all these years I have tried to keep our feet on the ground by not being carried away with performance and now I need to do the opposite.

"We are not going to give up at that stage of the season, we are not going to give up at any time unless it is not mathematically possible anymore to win this championship.

“Therefore, we need to see things optimistically rather than pessimistically like we have done in the past.”

Red Bull only a retirement away

Mercedes has long since stopped development of the W12 and although upgrades will be fitted to the car in time for the British Grand Prix, Hamilton remains doubtful of the effectiveness of the new parts.

Wolff, however, was quick to point to the championship table to highlight the cost of one Red Bull error.

He added: “Of course, losing every point is a blow and [Hamilton] lost six points compared to finishing second [in Austria] and adding that all up is making the whole momentum going in the wrong direction.

“But this is so far from over. 32 points behind Max, that is a DNF away and he is in the hunt again.

"If we look at Baku and the potential and the other races just overall, we just need to up our game, make less mistakes and continue to understand the car better.

“Then we still [are] massively in the hunt.”

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