Toto Wolff’s Confident Claims Fizzle Out as “Embarrassing” Record Draws Ridicule from Fans

“Anything that can go wrong will go wrong,” states Murphy’s law. Mercedes experienced the law firsthand during the 2023 United States GP. The Brackley outfit installed a new floor on the W14 which gave the car an instant boost in performance. In fact, the new floor even gave Lewis Hamilton his first opportunity to fight for a race win since the 2022 Brazilian GP. In fact, after the race, Wolff even confidentially claimed the W14 was the fastest car on the grid. However, it went all downhill for Mercedes as we know. However, it overshadowed a side of Mercedes that needs addressing. A side that, after coming to light, is being ridiculed on social media.

The Brackley outfit has been standard setters for years which is exactly how they won eight consecutive championships. However, ever since the 2022 season, the team has completely lost the plot. Among many shortcomings of present-day Mercedes, their abysmal pitstop record was highlighted on Twitter (now X).

Mercedes has failed to register a pitstop under 2.5 seconds since the opening race of the season. The outfit which used to perfectly double stack their cars and execute strategies faultlessly has managed just one pitstop in under 2.5 seconds when their rivals are pushing their limits with pitstops in the 1.8-second region. Apparently, only 1.69% of the 59 total pitstops by the Silver Arrows have been under 2.5 seconds.

In fact, Mercedes was caught in double minds during the race and gave Hamilton two over 3-second pitstops. The team that was the standard setters a few years ago is now struggling massively and pitstop is one of the major areas where they need to improve and even Toto Wolff admitted that.

Read More: “I Hate Losing”: As Toto Wolff Reacts Boldly, Lewis Hamilton Looks at Silver Lining Amid US GP Chaos

This abysmal reality is being highlighted and ridiculed on Twitter (now X)

Fans highlight the embarrassing reality of Toto Wolff and Co. in the pits

We all know how brutal F1 fans are so will Mercedes now, if they did not already. The fans are expressing their concerns about the Brackley outfit’s below-par standards in the pits.

For comparison, so far in 2023, Ferrari and McLaren both have performed 22 pitstops under 2.5 seconds. Whereas Red Bull is at 30 in the same table and Mercedes is at an embarrassingly low ONE pitstop in 2023.

This is exactly why the fans are expressing their disappointment at the embarrassing reality.

It also haunts back some of the horrible race memories where the German team had awful pit stops. Valtteri Bottas certainly remembers his infamous ever-lasting Monaco 2021 pit stop.

Some fans are extremely disappointed at how low their team has sunk. Perhaps Niki Lauda or a senior figure like him may be the void Mercedes may be feeling as this fan pointed out.

Mercedes have always been an efficient team in terms of operations including pit stops. So matching RB’s speed is not their priority but not being efficient is not worth compromising.

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Oh, how the mighty have fallen! Do you think Mercedes can come back stronger in 2024 or will this miserably low standard persist for an extended period?