Helmut Marko Dissects Toto Wolff & Co’s Shady Tactics as He Questions Their Testing Approach

Sandbagging is the art of showcasing an F1 car to be slower than it is during pre-season testing. This is done in multiple ways, from drivers driving slower to the mechanical team implementing some kind of speed-reducing method. However, this is not a new practice and has been pulled off by teams for years.

With the pre-season testing for 2024 concluded, many teams have stronger gauges of their car’s capabilities. Teams also get to analyze how fast their opponents are on the track. And while the W14 was genuinely slow, the Red Bull director is having a hard time believing that Mercedes showed off the true potential of their car.

Doubts about Mercedes sandbagging their car

After the pre-season testing, Helmut Marko came forth to talk about his thoughts on what Mercedes had been up to during the testing. According to Mercedes-AMG F1 News’ post on X, Marko has stated that the Silver Arrows are faster than they are showing the world. This implies that they have been sandbagging during the trails to hide their true speed.

Similar speculations have been brought up in the past, about the W14, but in the end, it turned out to be Lewis Hamilton’s worst nightmare. Mercedes has dominated the grid for a while, but now it looks like their cars have been letting them down. This year, Mercedes has decided to go an interesting route for their front wing that has raised several questions around the paddocks. The car is on the fence of being illegal because of its front wing and the FIA is yet to rule out its decision.

Read More – Toto Wolff Publicly Admitted Mercedes Has a “Problem” Months Before Lewis Hamilton Exit

Considering that Mercedes made such a bold move with their front wing, Helmut Marko believes that there is a strong chance that the team is hiding its true performance during testing. Mercedes is doing its last season with 7 times world champion driver, and considering that he deserves a good farewell, the team must have taken some steps to juice out the last season with the driver.

What will happen to Mercedes after Lewis Hamilton leaves the team?

So far it is yet unknown what Toto Wolff and the team have decided to do for next season. With all the focus on getting through this season before thinking of the next, the team looks like it is readying up to fight Ferrari for another season.

It’s clear that every other team is quite far from catching up with Red Bull with Max Verstappen in the seat. This makes Formula One feel like a race for P2 on the Constructors’ Championship as Adrian Newey has found the magic formula since 2021.

Currently, the buzz in the paddocks is about who will replace Hamilton in the team. And real F1 fans know that getting a new skilled driver will not be enough as Hamilton comes with a lot of influencing power which benefits the brands. Having Lewis Hamilton as the face for the partners helped Mercedes achieve many sponsors over the years and to replace him, Wolff will have to find someone with equal reach.

Read More – Shaquille O’Neal Turned Down Christian Horner’s Red Bull Offer in 2023

That being said, do you think Toto Wolff could have retained Lewis Hamilton? Or was Hamilton’s mindset to head to Ferrari from the very start? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.