Mercedes needs 'all-round perfection' to continue F1 success - Toto Wolff

Toto Wolff during press conference — Photo: © LAT Images

Mercedes

Mercedes needs 'all-round perfection' to continue F1 success - Wolff

Mercedes leads the constructors' standings but trails in the drivers'

Sam Hall

Thursday 9 September 2021 05:00

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff believes "perfection all-round" is required to secure Formula 1 championship success this season.

Since the introduction of the turbo-hybrid era, Mercedes has not faced a sustained title challenge across a whole season.

Heading into the Italian Grand Prix, Mercedes leads Red Bull by 12 points, but in the drivers' standings, Lewis Hamilton trails Max Verstappen by three.

Speaking at the IAA MOBILITY in Munich, Wolff said: “The fight with Red Bull is really tough.

"Every single decision we take must be really strategic but then at the end of the day you need to really do the best for every single session you are in – for every practice session, for qualifying and the race.

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“[You must] make no mistakes because I believe this season is not going to be won with swings to first and second place and vice versa.

“This season will be won with the least mistakes, the least DNFs. That is going to be the difference so it needs perfection all-round.”

Mercedes' A-game must be its only game

Mercedes has tasted success in just one of the last nine grands prix with Red Bull on seven occasions.

With just nine races remaining before the chequered flag falls on the season in Abu Dhabi, Wolff reflected Mercedes must be on its A-game "all the time".

“I think it’s a circuit by circuit performance issue and we just need to be on our A-game all the time," he explained.

"With these little lapses, with not being able to complete FP2 [at Zandvoort] in a proper way as a starting point and then the execution of the race itself, we just need to be...it needs the A-game to win the A-championship.”