“Different Side of Toto Wolff”: F1 Pundit Highlights Key Reason Behind Flawed Mercedes Season

Mercedes did not have the season that they were hoping for. In terms of the car, they stuck to their guns and continued the development of their no-sidepod style. However, that turned out to be fatal, as they failed to win even a single race this year. Despite that, they did manage to finish second in the constructors’, a small solace for a team like Mercedes who are so used to staying on top.

Naturally, the last couple of seasons brought out a different side of the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team, and the team principal Toto Wolff was not immune to these changes as well. At least that’s what F1 pundit David Croft thought.

David Croft’s verdict on Mercedes and Toto Wolff

Speaking on the Sky Sports F1 podcast’s bonus episode, Croft went into detail about the season that wasn’t for Mercedes and Toto Wolff. “It was up and down to say the least. I think we’ve seen a different side of Toto Wolff this year, to the Toto Wolff we have seen in previous years. For the second year running, they haven’t been winning much.”

He criticizes Mercedes for sticking to the no-sidepod concept, stating “Something stopped Mercedes from doing what was glaringly obvious, and that was getting rid of concept they had and go down a different path. They started the season once again with a car that was not befitting of where they wanted to be.”

However, since the start of the season, Mercedes has made a lot of progress. They got rid of that concept and went in a new direction, which seemingly helped, seeing that they had secured the second spot in the championships. However, Croft attributes much of that second-place finish to the “strongest driver lineup on the grid”, giving kudos to Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.

Read more: ‘Arrogant’ Toto Wolff Gets Slammed for Ending Lewis Hamilton’s Championship Chances With “Poor” Car

Now it is up to Toto Wolff and the Mercedes leadership team to figure out what needs to be done to revisit their former glory days.

Drastic Changes in Mercedes for 2024 season

Thanks to the eye-opening that Mercedes had in terms of a disappointing ’22 and ’23, they are starting to change things drastically in Brackley. Not in terms of leadership or management, as the team has consistently done everything there for over a decade, but in terms of car development.

They are no longer going to be experimenting with changing one thing at a time, and seeing what works in terms of car philosophy, and are going in a completely new direction. Working on their way to metaphorically “climb Mt. Everest” in terms of catching up to Red Bull, Mercedes insider Bradley Lord revealed insights as to the changes that have happened since the last season.

“There’s a huge gap to close, and we’re pretty much changing everything. We’ve gone toward when you don’t experiment and change one thing at a time. We’ve thrown that out of the window. Everything’s up for grabs! It’s going to be a heck of a winter to get it all on time,” commented Bradley Lord.

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However, the question would be – is Mercedes too late to make changes now, seeing that the new regulations are just a couple of seasons away? Is Red Bull’s dominance truly invincible? We can only guess for now.