A few months ago it was speculated through an LMDH program from Mercedes-AMG, but now sports director Toto Wolff makes it clear why Le Mans is currently “not an option”.
This year Mercedes-AMG celebrated the long-awaited comeback at the 24-hour race in Le Mans: the brand with the star sent three racing cars in the LMGT3 class into the race. In the fight for overall victory, however, there is currently no silver arrow. Could that change in the near future?
After all, it was reported a few months ago that Mercedes-AMG may be working on an LMDH program. Now Mercedes sports director Toto Wolff is commenting on the rumors: “We are currently concentrating on the main platform, and this is Formula 1,” he says in an interview with the Bloomberg podcast “Hot Pursuit”.
“That is what we want to do. She reaches 99 percent of the public interest. Everything else comes in second place,” says the Austrian. “Formula 1 is for me – and of course I am biased – the best thing there is. They are the best drivers, the fastest cars, the greatest routes.”
However, if Wolff had to decide what comes after Formula 1, that would be the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring in addition to the 24 hours of Le Mans and the legendary Indy 500. “For me this is the absolute top.”
Mercedes sports director is an avowed LE-MANS fan
The Mercedes sports director shows himself as a confessed fan of the long-distance classic: “I can see the race overnight,” grins Wolff. “I follow the live stream and know some of the drivers personally. So I have a real, personal interest.”
Mercedes also has a long, albeit tragic history in Le Mans. In 1955, Pierre Lvegh died in an accident with his Mercedes 300 SLR when the vehicle flew into the crowd. More than 80 people also lost their lives.
The comeback in 1999 was also shaped by dramatic scenes when the Mercedes-Benz CLR took off at high speed and overturned in the air. “It wasn’t necessarily our happiest place,” recalls the 53-year-old. “We had a very bad accident in the 1950s, after which we got out.
“And then some of our prototypes flew in the 1990s. In the literal sense.” However, this is not the real reason why a program in the long-distance world championship (WEC) and at the 24-hour race in Le Mans for Mercedes is currently not up for debate.
Wolff: “I want to build the fastest car”
Another point is more important for Wolff: “We are racing people at Mercedes,” he says. “We don’t like BOP, so no Balance of Performance. We don’t like it if someone judges our performance: energy consumption, the weight, driver qualities …”
“You invest so much time, money and effort to build the fastest car, and then you get ten kilograms of additional weight,” recalls the Mercedes sports director. “I don’t want that. I just want to build the fastest car.”
In this regard, Formula 1 serves as a model for a functioning regulation: “Formula 1 has shown how it is done correctly. Give us a top limit. More of it – give everyone a budget.
Le Mans is “currently not an option” for Mercedes “
“And within these 30 or 40 million you can do what you want,” Wolff suggests a comparable solution for the WEC. “Of course there are rules anyway, but nobody has to tact or dazzle in winter test or in qualifying. That is pure racing.”
“If there was such a thing in Le Mans, we would absolutely consider it,” emphasizes Wolff. “But at the moment, with the BOP – if any official judges whether you are too fast, and then put ten kilograms on the car or lose it again with the competitor’s car – this is not an option for us at the moment.”