For the first time in nine years Mercedes He has not fought for either of the two titles and, nevertheless, they finished the season optimistic, or at least more satisfied than the previous one when Hamilton missed out on the eighth title in the dramatic, and controversial, end of Abu Dhabi. And it is that, although they have started the new era of Formula 1 with the wrong foot, succumbing to the power of Red Bull and also losing the place with Ferrari, the performance achieved in the final stretch of the year raises their spirits for 2023 .
That is the analysis that does Toto Wolff after achieving a single victory, with Russell in Brazil, a poor balance that they had not recorded since 2012. “I am particularly proud of the team, of how we have recovered throughout the season, because it wasn’t a one-run problem. It wasn’t like there was a clear trajectory that just went up, we had good races and then we fell back. In the end, I think we are much closer to our rivals than at the beginning.” explains the Brackley boss in ‘Beyond the Grid’, the podcast F1 official.
And it is that he had doubts about how they would fit the most feared moment for all, when they stopped winning: “In terms of performance, you can say that after eight consecutive constructor titles starting half a second late, being quite optimistic, it was something to what you needed to get used to. These last eight years we talked about how we would react if that happened, how would we face defeat? We inevitably knew that one day it would happen, and here we are.”
But Wolff applies the philosophy that “You have to fail and make mistakes to prosper”: “In the end, it all comes back to the phrase ‘the days we lose are the days our competitors will regret’, because we learn more. Hopefully the future will be proof of that.” “I’m always a glass half empty guy, and I see the risks. In fact, being logical, Red Bull has been very dominant. It will be very difficult to have a steeper development slope than theirs, and also than Ferrari’s, but I believe in the organization.” adds positively.
Aerodynamics, the main problem
The good thing for Mercedes is that they have identified the problem: “Basically, It’s not a lack of downforce, it’s a problem with making that downforce work on the car. With our learnings, the values in the team, the empowerment and the culture of not blaming anyone, I believe that we will return in a more powerful form next year, hopefully winning races on merit and fighting for the championship. But is it a fact? Certainly not”.