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Toto Wolff says Mercedes need to hope for another 'surprise' from its 2022 Formula 1 car to be in contention for Abu Dhabi Grand Prix victory. Reigning Constructors' champions Mercedes were winless going into last weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix, however, George Russell snapped the winless streak with a commanding maiden win. However, Wolff believes that the performance in Sao Paulo was a one-off and it will be tricky to repeat at Yas Marina, with the long straights and draggy nature of the W13 machine not likely to be compatible. Viewed by others: Haas F1 Team Steiner 'doesn't regret' previously disposing of experienced drivers ...

Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff has said that he does not want Sergio Perez's crash at Monaco to be investigated . The crash was put under renewed focus following the Brazilian Grand Prix, where it was claimed that Max Verstappen did not follow team orders because of the incident. Verstappen appeared to believe that his teammate crash ed deliberately to secure pole position while he was on a better lap. FIA President Mohammed ben Sulayem said the governing body were open to investigating the crash, if a formal complaint was put through by teams. But the Mercedes boss said that it would be difficult to prove given the limited GPS around the track, and also would not like to see any further "PR crisis" around the matter. "We haven't got the data, Monaco is always pretty bad on GPS [data]," said Wolff to media, including TheFOXposts.Com . "I've known Sergio for a long time, would a driver really put his car in the wall and risk hi...

Toto Wolff has explained why Mercedes "went backwards " in qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after looking stronger earlier in the weekend. The team set the pace during Friday's opening practice session, having arrived at the Yas Marina Circuit off the back of their 1-2 victory last time out in Brazil. However, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell slipped behind both Red Bull and Ferrari in Saturday's qualifying , with the pair set to line up in P5 and P6 respectively. Wolff couldn't hide his disappointment following the session, having told Sky Sports F1 : "I think that's one to put in the toilet." Wolff: We didn't get the job done Wolff feels that – as well as Ferrari appearing to make progress – the direction that the Silver Arrows took for the session may not have been the right one. "We didn't get the job done," the tea...

Toto Wolff has described 2022 as a "character-building year" for Mercedes after a poor Abu Dhabi Grand Prix ended the Formula 1 season. Mercedes only secured one race win – through George Russell in Brazil – as Lewis Hamilton 's streak came to an end after 15 seasons of at least one race win. The W13 machine has been affected by porpoising and a fundamental floor issue while also battling being too draggy. Mercedes finished in third place in the Constructors', their worst result since sixth in 2012, and Wolff was keen to use the lessons learned from the year going forward. Wolff on Mercedes' 2022 "First of all, we're going to put these cars in reception [at] Brackley and Brixworth to remind us every single day, how difficult it can be," Wolff explained to Sky Sports F1 . "This is a character-building season, not a blip for the race but for t...

Toto Wolff admits that Mercedes had " expected more" from their car at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix following a difficult race for the team. George Russell ended the event in P5, while Lewis Hamilton recorded the Silver Arrows' first mechanical failure of the season when he was forced to retire in the latter stages of the Grand Prix. Wolff acknowledges that the team's struggles with pace and tyre degradation were not something that they had fully anticipated. "I think we pushed very hard at the beginning," Wolff told media, including TheFOXposts.Com . "It looked like [in] the first few laps that we had real pace. [We were] expecting it to stabilise, but it didn't. "On the Hard [tyre], we were pretty much – with Lewis – on the same trajectory, like all the other teams, but we expected more from the car in terms of tyre degradation that we actually had." ...

Ralf Schumacher has advised Mick Schumacher to take the reported offer of a Mercedes reserve driver role for next season. With Haas electing to sign Nico Hulkenberg to partner Kevin Magnussen for next season, Mick Schumacher was left without an F1 race seat for 2023. In the weeks running up to Haas' decision, Mercedes ' Team Principal Toto Wolff expressed his interest in signing the 23-year-old, if he became available. Mick Schumacher's uncle, pundit and ex-F1 driver Ralf Schumacher, believes that Mercedes' educational gains would be too good to turn down. "For Mick, this would definitely be a sensible step, because he can work with a team that has a lot of experience and can help Mick progress," Schumacher said in his column for Sky Sports Germany . "The processes at Haas and Mercedes are different and that is something Mick can benefit from. "It would definitely be important for him to work with a team like Mercedes, to do simulato...

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner says he can empathise with Mercedes after their F1 Championship-winning run came to an end in 2022. Mercedes had claimed every Constructors’ title since 2014 heading into this campaign, but troubles with its W13 machine restricted them to just one race win as Lewis Hamilton went winless for the first time in his career. They slumped to third in the standings as Red Bull and Max Verstappen racked up 17 and 15 wins respectively, securing their own first Championship 'double' since 2013 – the final year of the V8 engine formula. Speaking after what was Red Bull’s most dominant season ever in F1 , Horner admitted he knows exactly what Mercedes and team boss Toto Wolff are feeling. © XPBimages Horner...

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says fighting the problems with its 2022 Formula 1 car was like " peeling layers of onions ." The W13 proved to be Mercedes' worst F1 car since the W03 of 2012 with only one race win in the 2022 season as Lewis Hamilton went winless for the first time in his Grand Prix career. The octuple Constructors' champions slipped to third in the standings as the W13 proved troublesome throughout the campaign. Firstly it was affected by porpoising which tricked the team into believing solving this would improve performance. While it did, the porpoising was only masking a more serious, ingrained flaw with the concept - believed to be in the design of the floor which could not be rectified in-season. It is this continuous battle Wolff described as like "peeling onions." Wolff in the kitchen "We knew from the get go at the beginning [of...

Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff has called for greater regulation of cryptocurrencies, following the bankruptcy of team sponsor FTX. The cryptocurrency exchange company had prominent branding on the Mercedes W13 and driver race suits, but the eight-time Constructors' Champions removed all FTX logos ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix after FTX filed for bankruptcy on 11 November. Discussing the firm's collapse, Wolff expressed his disbelief and said the sector needed greater regulation to avoid such instances in future. "It's difficult, because we all know that crypto has relevance," Wolff told media, including TheFOXposts.Com . "I strongly believe in blockchain as a way of transactions in the future, but the situation is very unfortunate. "We considered FTX because they were one of the most credible and solid, financially sound partners that were out there, and out of nowhere, you can see that a crypto company can basically be on its kne...

Toto Wolff has pledged to agree a deal with Mick Schumacher to become the Mercedes Formula 1 third driver, if the German wants it. Schumacher's two-year stay at Haas ended after the 2022 season finale in Abu Dhabi, with the team drafting in Nico Hulkenberg to partner Kevin Magnussen for the next campaign. The second seat at Haas was the final vacancy on the 2023 grid, meaning Schumacher would be forced into a third or reserve driver deal at another team, with Pietro Fittipaldi firmly encosed in that position at the American squad. Mercedes are on the hunt for a new driver to shadow Lewis Hamilton and George Russell after Nyck de Vries departed for a race berth at AlphaTauri, while Stoffel Vandoorne took up a reserve role at Aston Martin. Both Schumacher and Daniel Ricciardo have been linked with the vacancy at Brackley, but Ricciardo opted to return to Red Bull after leaving McLaren. Wolff feels that a deal for Schumacher to join is certainly possible. ...

Toto Wolff has warned his Mercedes Formula 1 team not to repeat the History set by rivals Red Bull and Ferrari as they look to recover from a poor 2022 season. Having won all eight Constructors' Championships and seven of the Drivers' titles since the turbo hybrids were introduced in 2014, Mercedes had crushed all before it in F1 with dominant all-round packages. However, the team was badly caught out with the new ground effect regulations in 2022 - suffering initially from porpoising. Once this had been solved, the team then realised that a deeper, more fundamental issue was plaguing the W13 - believed to be related to the design of the floor which they could not rectify mid-season. Coupled with lower top speed capabilities, the season was almost a write-off as the team claimed only one victory - courtesy of George Russell in Brazil - while Lewis Hamilton lost his 'win in every season' record. Mercedes slipped to third in the Constructors', well b...

Toto Wolff has explained how Mercedes took a " protective " approach to F1 Politics in 2022. The 2021 campaign was memorable for the off-track political battles between the Silver Arrows and Red Bull, with the teams locked in a close fight on track for the World Championship. While this year may have seemed less political on the surface, there were still various issues up for debate, ranging from the response to porpoising to Red Bull's punishment for their breach of the 2021 cost cap. When asked whether he had enjoyed the Politics of the 2022 season, Wolff detailed how the team had dealt with this side of the sport. Viewed by others: Toto Wolff Wolff warns Mercedes not to fall into Red Bull and Ferrari traps ...

Toto Wolff has jokingly revealed the "special place" that the W13 will take in Mercedes' collection of F1 cars. After winning eight consecutive Constructors' Championships up to and including the 2021 season, the team faced a more challenging campaign in 2022 and eventually finished P3 behind runaway winners Red Bull and second- place d Ferrari. The W13 was affected by issues such as porpoising, and ultimately proved a much more troublesome vehicle for Lewis Hamilton and George Russell than its predecessors. Hamilton has quipped that he will not be requesting ownership of this particular car, and Wolff acknowledges that it may not exactly take pride of place in Mercedes' line-up of Formula 1 challengers. Wolff reveals 'special place' for W13 "I think this car will always have a special place in our collection – very far back," Wolff joked to media,...

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has said that the difficult Formula 1 season in 2022 for the team was "necessary" to re-energise the organisation. Prior to 2022 they enjoyed an eight-year reign as Constructors' Champions - the longest of any team in the history of F1 - and seven Drivers' titles with Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. But this year has been challenging for the team as they struggled to hit the ground running with the new regulations. The W13 suffered with bouncing and porpoising, and had aerodynamic drag issues at high-speed circuits. Wolff said the team had to analyse what went wrong to understand how they went from being a dominant force to barely being able to challenge for podiums. "We are analysing the reasons in the past for why teams that dominated over an era suddenly lost performance," he told media, including TheFOXposts.Com . "You can trace it back pretty well; a change the regulation, people leaving, a tyre that ...

Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff says F1's changing landscape means a repeat of his side's recent dominance will be impossible to achieve. Mercedes won all but one available championship title between 2014 and 2021, with only Max Verstappen's narrow Drivers' title win in 2021 preventing the Silver Arrows from an eight-year clean sweep. But with F1 's recently-installed budget cap and restrictions on wind tunnel time preventing the sport's bigger teams from fully flexing their financial muscles, Wolff says a similar lengthy domination from one team is unlikely. "I think you just need to play a better game than the others," Wolff told media including TheFOXposts.Com . "It's a relative com Pet ition, and we know who our com Pet itors are today, there will be others tomorrow and after tomorrow because of the cost cap limits that have been set, and this is what the sport should be, not one team, not three, but maybe five [in title co...