F1 boss declares title race over after four races

Mercedes

F1 boss declares title race over after four races

Toto Wolff has made a sad admission about the future of Mercedes

Originally written by Sheona Mountford. This version is a translation.

Wednesday 10 April 2024 23:00

Toto Wolff has made a sad assessment regarding the future of Mercedes.

The Austrian has led the team since 2013, and oversaw their championship winning years during the hybrid era.

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However, since the introduction of the new regulations in 2022, Mercedes have struggled to return to their race winning ways.

A further blow came to the team when seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton announced he was leaving the team for Ferrari in 2025.

Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff part ways at the end of 2024

Wolff looks to the future

Toto Wolff has written off their chances this year and is already looking to the future according to the Guardian.

“No one is going to catch Max this year,” Wolff said. “His driving and the car are just spectacular. You can see the way he manages the tyres and basically this season now is best of the rest.

“That’s the fact, that is all, but hopefully we can catch up to the McLarens and to the Ferraris and fight for P2. This is what it is this year and what is was last year and we had a P2 last year.”

“If I was to look from a pure sporting point of view it is P1 which matters, not P2, P3 or P4, but this is the reality that we are facing at the moment.

“We’re trying to do the best out of this new reality and that is to beat our competitors whilst acknowledging that somebody is just doing a better job and setting the benchmark that we eventually need to set ourselves again.

“In 2026 there is a big reset that certainly provides the most realistic opportunity for any other team to beat Red Bull but there is one and a quarter seasons until then and I don’t want too much suffering in the next 18 months,” he said.

Red Bull Max Verstappen Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Mercedes McLaren