WOLFF: ‘THERE IS A MOUNT EVEREST TO CLIMB TO CATCH RED BULL’
The Mercedes team principal believes that it will take a lot of work to catch the winners.
The Mercedes team will celebrate saying goodbye to the W14 at the conclusion of the 2023 season.
The Brackley squad had a difficult season and soon realized they couldn’t compete with rivals Red Bull, who appeared to have figured out the rules.
Mercedes did, however, place second overall in the constructors’ championship, adding eight more podiums to their resume. The team isn’t exactly thrilled with their season, though.
Mercedes made the decision to stick with the zero side pod concept found in the 2022 design. When they saw that this wasn’t going to work out for them, they changed the design and added additional features by Monaco.
But by then it was too late; they were well behind the Milton Keynes team and well short of the winning margin.
The team finished just ahead of Ferrari, with nearly equal points going into Abu Dhabi. They were able to scrape together an additional three points.
Red Bull, on the other hand, dominated the grid, taking home 22 victories from a possible 23 races and surpassing Mercedes’ 2016 season record with 868 points, while Mercedes finished with 408 points.
Wolff voices his opinion
In an interview with Motorsport.com, Wolff discussed his thoughts about 2024 and the new vehicle that the Brackley team plans to build.
The team principal, though, is reluctant to get his hopes up quite yet.
Rumor has it that Red Bull finalized their 2024 car back in August, giving them an advantage.
“I have never in my life felt optimistic about anything.” Wolff started.
“It may sound a bit miserable, but it’s protected me about managing my expectations and just pushing harder.
“Because I think it’s never good enough. That’s why I sit here with a bittersweet feeling. We won P2 [in the constructors’ championship], but we lost P1.”
“I think we need to take it on the chin, be humble about it and consider it a good day. Nevertheless, there’s a Mount Everest to climb in order to catch up with Red Bull.
Wolff predicts that the competition will be difficult the following year since the vehicles are clearly getting closer to one another as the season comes to a close. He believes that Aston Martin’s strong season and McLaren’s return to form will make them the main culprits in the upcoming season:
“I’m confident that McLaren, along with possibly Aston Martin and other teams, will be competitive again next year.
“We have to investigate every possibility, which is what we do in Brixworth and Brackley.
And as tough as it is to be reminded that it’s just P2, it’s also a great, great opportunity to come back and strive for the stars.”
There is a ray of hope with the new design in the works for 2024, despite the mystery surrounding the appearance and racing capabilities of the W15 car.
The Formula One season will resume in Bahrain in 95 days, at which point we’ll see what Mercedes has been up to.
