Toto Wolff admits that Mercedes may need as much as 12 months to catch up to Red Bull
- Planet Sport writer
- 28 March 2023
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has not minced words about his underperforming car in the 2023 Formula 1 season and admits the team is "six to 12 months" of development from being able to catch up.
Silver Arrows were hoping to be fighting for wins again this season after the disappointment of 2021 when they had to watch Red Bull and Ferrari fight for the titles.
Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be as it quickly became clear they were still well off the pace at the opening race of the season in Bahrain.
While they looked more competitive and got a decent points haul in Saudi Arabia, it was still quite obvious they were nowhere near the pace of Ferrari, let alone Red Bull way out in front of the pack.
After early rumours to the contrary, Mercedes are adamant they are not going to abandon their W14 design but have admitted on several occasions that a lot of work needs to be done and Wolff has now conceded it could be as much as a year before they are properly competitive again.
"I think the lag is probably between six and 12 months because that's the time it really took for us to figure out what was actually happening with the [2022] car," Wolff said.
"That means we just need to double the development speed, a stronger development slope which the logic and rationale speaks for it, that we could have [it]. [Red Bull's] gains are going to be incrementally smaller if their concept is mature.
"Aero-wise, wind tunnel time can help a bit but not hugely, and we've just got to get our act together.
"If we fundamentally understand where we need to put the car, then the steps are going to be large, but we need to be perfect."
With Mercedes so far behind, the cost cap is proving to be a significant hurdle because they can't just spend their way out of trouble but Wolff remains confident that his team can turn things around.