Toto Wolff’s “Arrogance” Extended Mercedes’ Struggles, Suggests Ex-Ferrari Boss

Mercedes finally made the W15 worth competing. It was long overdue. The cars had a lot of parking issues, which had been noticed ever since last year. Toto Wolff has been on edge as it made the team lose its competitive advantage despite having the 7x world champion with them. After the disappointing 2023 season, Lewis Hamilton decided to switch teams for next season as he signed with Ferrari. Many wonder if Mercedes got a little too late with their upgrades.

Ultimately, Lewis Hamilton will head to Maranello next year and Mercedes has an open seat. They are in pursuit of signing Max Verstappen as replacing a world champion with another makes sense. However, this has been difficult, as Verstappen would only leave Red Bull if another team had a better car. At the Canadian Grand Prix, Mercedes’ upgrades made the driver’s finish P3-4, something that was replicated in Barcelona. For those wondering what took Mercedes so long with their upgrades, Peter Windsor has uncovered the mystery.

Toto Wolff rejects Peter Windsor’s help

In the era of ground-effect cars, having downforce is probably the most important thing. With a car bouncing around the track, not only does it lead to reduced top speeds, but it also makes the car less stable to drive. This was a major problem that Mercedes faced, as Lewis Hamilton often complained about the car. So when Peter Windsor heard about the issue, he decided to lend a helping hand, only to get shot down by Toto Wolff.

In the episode Peter Windsor: Everything Verstappen Does Is To Do With Racing on the Cameron F1 channel, the former Ferrari boss explains his interaction with the Mercedes team principal.

Windsor explained, “When “bouncing” and “porpoising”—whatever you want to call it—was first recognized, offering his services to Mercedes, to James Allison, and not getting a reply, as far as I can make out, or it was a negative reply, is that complacency or arrogance? You know, I think it’s more arrogance, isn’t it?”

“I’ve sent Toto Wolff three emails now—three messages—saying, ‘I know a very, very good engineer who would love to talk to your team and offer some consultancy advice.’ I haven’t even had a reply, let alone a negative one. Again and again, you know, I just wonder,” Windsor further stated.

The former Ferrari boss was not enjoying seeing the championship-dominating team barely make it to the podium, so he offered help. However, Mercedes made it clear to him that they would figure the issue out themselves. Windsor named all the other teams that would have taken his suggestion and ultimately concluded, “I think there’s a whole mixture there, of arrogance—call it complacency, maybe—and illogic, because all that business of  ‘we didn’t compromise enough.”

However after a long 2023 season, this year, Mercedes has got the problem under control, that being said here is all they needed to do to get their drivers back on the podium.

How did Mercedes fix their F1 car?

The Silver Arrows started the season on the back foot, with even Lewis Hamilton stating that the team was moving “backward”. At the Canadian Grand Prix, Mercedes showed up with a huge upgrade that has shown results ever since. Mercedes introduced a new front wing design starting at the Monaco Grand Prix. This new wing moved away from its unique initial design, which had a gap on either side of the nose.

Throughout the season, Mercedes significantly changed the floor of their car. They modified both the floor body and the floor edges. These modifications began in Miami and continued through Imola. The team aimed to enhance the car’s aerodynamic efficiency and downforce, particularly under the car, an area the W15 has struggled with so far. The new changes to the car allow it to run lower, giving it the downforce the car needs.

Now that Mercedes is back in the fight, do you think they have a shot at the Top 3 this year? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.