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Toto Wolff says Mercedes’ 2021 engine troubles “developed into an epidemic in which the engines have lost more power over time than they used to”.
In a recent interview with Auto Motor und Sport Toto Wolff was asked how Mercedes managed to perform better than Red Bull in the second half of the season, despite Red Bull ‘developing its car much longer than Mercedes’.
“We understood our car better,” the Austrian said.
“Our set-up was better and we had less tyre wear. This was reflected in the race results.”
Asked at what point did Mercedes’ engineers start to understand the car better, Wolff said it started “in Austin, where we got it wrong, and then in Brazil”.
The team did lose out to Red Bull at the US Grand Prix in Austin, despite it historically being a track that suits their car, but in Brazil Lewis Hamilton blew away the competition in one of the greatest Formula 1 drives of all time.
Wolff was then asked about the problems Mercedes faced with their engines, problems that led to several engine swaps for both Hamilton and Bottas.
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“We didn’t lose the World Championship because of the engine, but it’s true that we had problems for the first time in eight years.
“At first it only affected a component from a bad production run. Then it developed into an epidemic in which the engines have lost more power over time than they used to [in previous seasons].”
In addition, the Italian branch of Motorsport.com has published an unsubstantiated report saying that Mercedes has brought in a turbo specialist to help them with their power unit for 2022.
According to the report, the new turbo should be “capable of enhancing the qualities of the six-cylinder and hybrid recharging, allowing more extreme strategies”.
They also reported that Mercedes managed to make up for the 20 horsepower deficit caused by Formula 1’s switch to the new E10 fuel that contains up to 10% renewable ethanol.
If these reports are true, the team seems to have gotten on top of their 2021 engine struggles.
