Mercedes boss Toto Wolff: ‘Red Bull is now in a class of its own, we have been put at a disadvantage’ | Sport

By Arjan Schouten

Many Formula 1 fans may accuse Mercedes of acting, from sand bagging† Team boss Toto Wolff knows better, the W13 just doesn’t deliver for the time being. “We are one of those few teams where the performance is not yet in line with our expectations,” concludes the Austrian before the first qualifying of the 2022 season.

Wolff therefore does not expect miracles today and tomorrow. In Bahrain and perhaps also in the next two or three races, according to Wolff, Mercedes really will not be the dominant factor that they have been for so long. ,,We are on the eve of a season in which a lot has changed and we have to be honest, for now we are not able to be fast. Don’t think 2021 pecking order will be the same in 2022, I’ve always said that. We have been put at a disadvantage and it is now important that we understand why. That takes patience.”

Also about realism, emphasizes Wolff, who is not even thinking about pole positions and victories, now in Bahrain. ,,Based purely on the times I’ve seen here now, I don’t think we’re going to keep up with the fastest here. Red Bull Racing, for example, is in a class of its own.”

But Wolff does not yet dare to say what consequences these early problems have for the championship. When talking about the problems at Mercedes, he mentions ‘low-hanging fruit’ which he believes are easy to tackle, but there is more to it, in terms of balance and porposing, the bouncing of the car. ,,And you can try to fix that quickly, but we prefer to go for a sustainable solution, since these rules will remain in force for a very long time. We have 23 races this season. Even if you lose two or three, if you miss some podiums, it doesn’t have to be fatal. No one is immune from outages and crashes. Moreover, what we learn now will make us stronger in the future. You have to keep looking at it that positively.”