© LAT Images for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd
Toto Wolff says “the logic and rational speaks that for Red Bull, their gains are going to be incrementally smaller if the concept is mature”.
Mercedes did not start the 2023 season on the right foot. As things stand now, Red Bull is far ahead of the German team, while they also have to contend with Ferrari and even Aston Martin.
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff says it is not realistic to expect that his team will be able to take the fight to Red Bull this year.
“We’re just two races in this year, but is it realistic when we look at the gaps? No, it’s not,” the Austrian told Autosport.
“But we just want to give it all we have and then see what the outcome of that is.
“We’ve been able to catch up a lot last year with a car that was bouncing way too much, and that in a way was overshadowing everything.
“Finally we won a race and got closer to them, and I think that needs to be the aspiration.”
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However, Toto thinks in 6 to 12 months, Mercedes could be able to at least challenge the Austrian outfit.
“I think the length is probably between 6 and 12 months, because that’s the time that it really took for us in 2022] to figure out what was actually happening with the car.
“That means we just need to have double the development speed, so a stronger development slope.
“The logic and rational speaks that for Red Bull, their gains are going to be incrementally smaller if the concept is mature. I think aero wise, and with wind tunnel time, that can help a bit but not hugely.
“It’s just, we’ve just got to get our act together and, 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,” Wolff concluded.
