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By Adrian Mann
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has been very careful when talking about the team’s chances in 2024, and that might actually be a sign of good things to come.
Mercedes’ 2024 car presentation was very bare-bones. It lasted for about 10 minutes, and it included short statements from Toto Wolff, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.
It was also very noticeable that Toto was careful when talking about the team’s chances in 2024. In the press materials released after the presentation, which included an interview with Toto, he was also very subdued.
“I am excited that we’re about to go racing again and, of course, curious and excited to see how the car will perform,” Toto said.
“I think we will get an early indication of whether we have solved some of the inherent problems that we had on the chassis side last year.
“We have a mountain to climb to get to the front of the field, but we are focused on doing so.”
Asked what the progress will look like in the early part of the season, Toto even said he hopes to get closer to Red Bull, obviously choosing not to raise expectations too much.
“Formula One is a constant relative competition against the other teams. You can have a great car, but if you’re running around in circles alone, you will never know if it’s the best.
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“We were in a tough fight last season with Ferrari and McLaren, at times Aston Martin, with a big gap between Red Bull and the rest.
“I would hope we are in the chasing pack at the beginning of the season and hopefully a step closer to Red Bull.”
In the end Toto expressed Mercedes’ focus on getting back to their winning ways, but without any bombastic statements.
“Formula One and professional sports are about constant development and that comes with setbacks.
“But it is important to remind ourselves that what we want to achieve is to look back in 10 or 20 years and say that this was a period of success even though we had our setbacks.
“For me it is about: when you fall, you get back up. And that is what I have learned most in the last three years: it’s about the ability to recognize the learning when we fail to meet our objectives and this is the key to long-term success.
“We hate losing, and that drives us. But that does not mean that we can’t enjoy the challenge we have in front of us, working through our problems and what we need to do as a team.
“That is all part of the development,” the Austrian concluded.
Everything about the car presentation and the subsequent interview was different than it was in previous years.
Ahead of 2022 and 2023 seasons, you could still feel the team’s glory days were fresh in their minds, and their statements reflected that.
Now, the team seems humbled, and they seem to be focused on growing step by step. They also obviously don’t want to raise expectations, instead they are acknowledging that beating Red Bull is a bit of a tall order.
On the other hand, they have almost completely redesigned the car, and while nobody can be sure how good it will actually be until it hits the track in Bahrain, it’s reasonable to assume it will be a step forward.
After two difficult years, and with Technical Director James Allison back in the car development driver’s seat, it’s not a leap to assume they have finally learned their lessons.
And ultimately, being humble while working their butts off at the factory is probably the right mindset for making genuine progress.
Time will tell if Mercedes is finally on the right path, but their demeanour at the W15’s launch, might actually be a cause for optimism.
