Mercedes in crisis: "We can throw our F1 car in the trash can" - Wolff
Mar.8 - Toto Wolff has already written off Mercedes' chances of winning the 2023 world championship.
Fellow Austrian Dr Helmut Marko said after the Bahrain season opener that if Red Bull was in Mercedes' shoes, "it would take us three or four races" to recover the deficit.
Wolff, however, is taking another tack - simply writing off the entire season as the team heads down another route with an entirely new car 'concept'.
"After Bahrain, I believe Red Bull will win every race this year," he told Osterreich newspaper.
However, on Servus TV immediately after the chequered flag in Bahrain, Wolff said the plan is actually to keep charging for the championship.
"Yes, but I didn't mean this year," he clarified. "For this year, that is no longer the case."
Mercedes F1 Team principal and CEO, Toto Wolff
Indeed, on Austrian radio ORF, Wolff said: "We can throw our car in the trash can."
"One team is miles ahead. They play with the competition - they don't even have tyre wear," he added.
Another option for Mercedes is simply to scrap the 'no sidepods' concept and try a more Red Bull or Aston Martin-style approach.
"That could be done," Wolff said. "But you can't just merrily put sidepods on the car, it's all about the airflow.
"Our car is lean but not fast.
"Last year, our car got better and better and then won races. That's why we decided to stick with the concept.
"Then you start a new season and suddenly you see that nothing works."
Former Red Bull driver David Coulthard is surprised about Wolff's "brutal" condemnation of the new Mercedes after just a single race in 2023.
"The car has only been alive for six days - a few days of testing, three days in Bahrain. I don't know where he's coming from with that," he told Channel 4.
"It's like a big kick in the whatnots for a design team. But yeah, they've got a completely different strategy with the sidepods. They clearly have to try and follow the pack now."
✅ Check out more posts with related topics:
Delighted for them.start over mb are not the first team to do it
I can see this being the worst season ever for spectators, it's not as if the best car has two drivers going head to toe as SP just isn't in the ball park, although that's what is probably keeping him in employment ironically.
As a Merc fan, I have to say it is disappointing to see Toto using such language about their car. Throw it in a bin…Sh&@tbox? I mean c’mon if I was an engineer in a factory it would be so demotivating! I’m not fan of RB team but Horner can handle himself and PR better. It’s not a shock Merc lost a lot of talent to RB, Williams, Aston and don’t know if there are any others.
Merc will not get anywhere with such attitude.
Totally agree!
I Guess that back in the days when Niki Lauda still was around, Torger wouldn't have talked about their own car like that.
@Tayto, yeah but there the best Toto and his Girl said so ..!
Red bull had hard times they never gave up.who was it said we win as a team ....etc.im loving it
Let the good times roll
After the Vettel years of winning and them moving to Ferrari RB became an average team. After being in the middle of the pack for a few years RB started making veiled threats to leave F1 racing. Basically, they were saying that if we cannot win we will leave.
Dozzer's right though shropp with a principal like Toto slagging off the mercedes empire it's totally out of order and as for the comments sir Lulu makes then he wants his ass smacked, don't they know how privalidged they are to be able to hold those positions.
Don’ have time to find all these comments by LH what and where are they Don?
Blo, sign in to express F1, its non stop all day, every day.
nonstop what, the love for Lewis?
What, you telling me that I'm the only one signed in to Express F1, practically sir Lulu's platform.
Its not the German way , more like the Gerald Ratner way, my 18-25 post contained sarcasm , sorry i should have put a warning out with it
Oh god, oh god doom and gloom, Stroppo apologising!! Coco in deep depression, Jack Russel gone to the dogs,little Jack Horner sat in the corner wondering how he can uncheat, R.o, R unable to even raise a sage comment. Slew wondering how the hell he pulls this lot round or just takes Stroppo’s advice and f s off, and Liberty rushing to tell the Saudi’s to get their wallets out, it’s all theirs.
I suggest a committee consisting of RoR, Canned, Don, of course Susan and chaired by Stroppo. Good luck lads and lass
The Merc car problem reminds me of the Paddy L+Williams debacle.
Red bull had hard times they never gave up.who was it said we win as a team ....etc.im loving it
That was the blouse wearing Dame I believe , yes Rb never give up , but they certainly gave there engine supplier an extremely hard time publicly I seem to remember and that after providing them with an engine that helped win four WC, ifs,buts,maybes I'm loving it too, love seeing Christian and his daughter squirming lol, I'm also sure Mr Ineos is really enjoying owing an F1 team..Not
Why don't someone shut m. Brundle up, he's still biased against RB, saying that they had problems with their transmission,, what the hells mechanics got to do with him, leave RB alone Martin pick on a team in your class, Hmmm! Like Hass, or Williams or even Alpine, Alpha Tauri, RB are well above your grade AHH, why don't you have a go at sir Lulu, Toto & mercedes "although they don't deserve it the'ir doing their best, do i sence a slight biased attitude towards mercedes,, yes I Do.
Brundle definitely has a bromance going with Sir Lou. Even when Lou’s losing Martin has such nice things to say like “ look how round Lewis’s wheels are?” He chokes when MV wins. Brundle and Crofty are a pair. A pair of twats.
Here here suudan well said.brundle s a pita.time to retire bundle
Ya hafta laugh. I took a squint at the F1 Express page. The editor must be bi-polar or something - the most ridiculous minutia.
Martin Blunder and Crusty are the most obsequious, fawning b_tches in the F1 broadcasting world. When The Dame soils herself, Crusty is screaming about Lucy's commitment. When MB barely make it into the points, Blunder is musing about how Red Bull and Aston Martin may somehow be cheating.
All the while Red Bull and Aston are heads' down pushing for the win, as MB dwindles into a speck in the rear view mirror. Adios mo fo.
✅ Checkout the latest 50 F1 Fans comments.