© Sebastian Kawka for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix ltd.
Mercedes released a Q&A session with Toto Wolff! The Mercedes team boss answers questions about the 2023 season, the new car, and more!
Last year was a challenging one for the team, what are your thoughts heading into 2023?
Last year was difficult but it came with lots of learning. I hope 2023 will be proof that we have understood how to unravel the problems and improve the package of the car. We haven’t started racing yet and certainly it is going to be a great challenge. I’m sure it will also be good fun.
Do you feel that the challenges faced in 2022 have made the team stronger?
We say that the days we lose are the days for our competitors to regret because we learn the most. However, if you are right in the deep end of it, it sometimes doesn’t feel that way. You are just trying to dig yourself out and hopefully bring better results. I am sure that in many years we will look back and say: “2022 was a defining year for the team.” After eight consecutive world championship titles we knew that there were going to be challenging times ahead at some point. Hopefully 2022 was just a blip and this year is much better.
How impressed have you been with the efforts of all the people at Brackley and Brixworth, both throughout last year and during the off-season?
The entire organisation across Brixworth and Brackley was pushing flat out last year. When we realised that the car wasn’t where we wanted it to be, we mobilised every reserve we had. That never stopped throughout the season. We are now getting ready to start the next season. I see so much effort, motivation, and energy to launch a car that will eventually be competitive enough to fight at the very front of the grid.
How would you describe the approach and philosophy we have taken to designing this year’s challenger?
W13 certainly had lots of performance which we never were able to unlock and put all its downforce on the ground. Our car performed very well at the end of the season. However, we still had the famous bouncing at some circuits and the car never gave the drivers good feedback, which limited them in being able to really push. We have tried to keep all the goodness of the W13 and address its weaknesses. Maintaining the good bits whilst adding all the learnings and improving the package overall.
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W14 will soon take to the track for the first time. What does that mean for you and the team in general?
Taking the new car to Silverstone each year for launch day is an amazing feeling. Firing it up in the factory is something that gives us all goosebumps. Then actually running it for the first time is seeing it all come together. Last year we recognised that we were facing troubles early on, so I hope this year is going to be smoother. We are also hoping for the great English weather to be kind to us, so we can complete our running and be ready to embark on testing in Bahrain one week later.
How motivated and determined is Lewis to help to bring the team back to the top?
Lewis was very motivated in 2022 but we just couldn’t give him a car capable of fighting for a World Championship. I hope that 2023 will be a strong step forward so he can fight for race wins on a consistent basis and then eventually bring himself into the contention for a World Championship. However, our competitors were very strong last year, and we are playing catch-up. Everything needs to work well to truly give him the car that he needs to achieve that eighth World Championship title.
How is George feeling before his second season with us?
George adapted well to the team, having come from Williams. He was hoping to get into a Mercedes and fight for a title, but he soon realised that wasn’t going to be the case. How both he and Lewis worked together with the engineers to improve the car was amazing. He has now had his first victory in Brazil and that was overdue after missing out on the win in Bahrain two years ago. Heading into his second season with the team, George is motivated, his preparation has been intense, and he is 100% focused. I know he is super eager to get into the car and finally drive the W14.
Many fans have been hoping for a return to the black livery, what made the team decide to go in this direction?
We have gone with a black livery for the W14 in the name of performance. We have explored every opportunity to save weight, and this is true with the livery. It harks back to the origin of the Silver Arrows; back then, Mercedes had a white car that was too heavy, so they removed the paint and ran to victory with the silver aluminium showing. We have taken a similar approach. We were overweight last year. This year we have tried to figure out where we can squeeze out every single gram of weight so now history repeats itself. You will see that the car has some raw carbon bits, along with some that are painted matte black. Of course, when we changed the livery in 2020 the main driving factor was to support the diversity and equality causes which are always close to our heart. The colour black became part of our DNA at that point, so we are pleased to return to it.
New season, new challenges, including a third race in the USA as we head to Las Vegas. How excited are you for F1 to return to Las Vegas?
Formula One was already growing very strongly in the US with an Austin event that sold out with 440,000 spectators. Miami was also great last year and now we’re heading to Las Vegas, I’m sure it will be an unbelievable blast. We have not raced in Las Vegas in the recent past and the surroundings of the city is incredible. It doesn’t get any better than racing down The Strip at night! The tickets sold out in 25 minutes online and I believe that shows how great the demand is for the race.
What does the level of interest in F1, not just in America but across the world, say about the health of F1 right now?
Formula One is going from strength to strength around the globe. I think it is doing so because we are providing good content. Proper racing, interesting personalities, and the odd controversy on and off track. Drive to Survive has certainly played its part in the overall success. What we need to do is continue to entertain but always under the premise of sport. We must never lose the DNA of the sport. Entertainment always follows the sport, and not the other way around.
What are your hopes and expectations for the year?
At the start of any new season, our hopes and expectations are always to be capable of fighting for a World Championship. Racing at the front requires resilience, teamwork, and determination. We face up to every challenge, we put the Team first, and we will leave no stone unturned in the chase for every millisecond. This year, we are going all in to get back in front.
How do you reflect on your 10th anniversary with the team?
I can’t believe that it has been 10 years. When I joined Mercedes, I saw it as a project. We then rolled it into another contract, and it was a project once again. Seven years in, I decided that this is my team, and that I was all in. I am a shareholder, running the place together with my colleagues and I am here to stay. It doesn’t feel like a decade, it feels like yesterday when I stepped into the office in Brackley for the first time in January 2013.
Source: Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team
