Despite Lewis Hamilton’s Winless Season, Toto Wolff Unwilling To Back Down From Red Bull’s Challenge: “We Have Important Pillars…”

The 2022 F1 season hasn’t gone the way Toto Wolff and the Mercedes AMG F1 team would have wanted. The Silver Arrows, that were the undisputed champions from 2014 to 2021, finished the 2022 season in P3. However, Toto Wolff believes he has the right ammunition with him for taking on current champions Red Bull next year despite Lewis Hamilton’s winless season in 2022.

In a recent interview with Harvard Business Review, the team boss talked about the positives his team has for the next season. It is believed that the Brackley-based team has figured out what went wrong with the W13 this season, and are already working to improve that.

When asked if Mercedes would have the same chance of winning the championship as other teams like Red Bull, the 50-year-old boss stated, “I believe we have important pillars in place. We have the right financial structure, the right kit, the right organization, the good drivers, and the right engine. Hopefully, the management is in a good place.”

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However, Wolff also mentioned that he’s not certain if Mercedes will be able to bounce back right from the start. Emphasizing Red Bull and Ferrari’s advantage, the Mercedes honcho also shared that they’ll have to be on the lookout for these teams as they are in a relatively better position.

Toto Wolff explains what went wrong with Mercedes in 2022

Mercedes AMG F1 picked up eight back-to-back constructors championships from 2014 to 2021. The team that were so dominant over the years suddenly dropped to P3 in the championship, with just one win in 2022. When asked about what went wrong, the Austrian executive talked about the possible reasons.

Talking about this, Wolff stated, “Formula 1 is physics, not mystics and we can almost trace back to the day we made a decision that sent us on the wrong development path. In simple terms, we continued to develop the car at very low rise heights, that means on the floor.”

“We soon realized when the car got going that we weren’t able to run it there. It’s the famous bouncing or porpoising that everybody was talking to. So our development direction was simply wrong,” concluded Wolff.

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If the German team manages to get back to their winning way, the 2023 F1 season will be a treat to watch, for sure. Which team will you be rooting for next season?