Toto Wolff fires warning to Mercedes' rivals ahead of 2023 F1 season

Mercedes entered 2022 as the reigning constructors' champions, but with a troubled W13 package, they fell behind Red Bull and Ferrari.

Toto Wolff in a file photo. (Image: Twitter)
By Nilavro Ghosh | Nov 24, 2022 | 2 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

Toto Wolff has sent a message to Mercedes’ rivals ahead of the winter break and the 2023 season, insisting that the team will be back to their best after a tumultuous season under F1’s new technical regulations. Mercedes entered 2022 as the reigning constructors’ champions, but with a troubled W13 package, they fell behind Red Bull and Ferrari in the pecking order, prompting plenty of head scratching and experiments. Mercedes returned to the top step of the podium with a one-two finish in Brazil, only to have another challenging weekend at the Abu Dhabi finale, where a lack of straight-line speed and tyre woes thwarted their efforts.

“[We were] third quickest [behind Red Bull and Ferrari], [with] one breaking down and one running out of tyres – it’s a precise summary of the season, and here we are. I think we cooked the tyres on the first few laps, we attacked strong, the car seemed to be really good, and then the front-right just gave up, so maybe that’s something we should have predicted,” the Mercedes boss said of the Abu Dhabi GP.

“We knew Abu Dhabi would be a difficult one for the car, so at least the correlation is good, and Brazil was just spectacular from beginning to end with the one-two, so at least we ticked the box with a race win.”

Wolff went on to highlight Mercedes’ progress despite the challenges they faced this year, as well as how he plans to use the W13 as inspiration for the entire workforce in the future. “First of all, we have to put these cars in reception [at our factories] in Brackley and in Brixworth to remind us every single day of how difficult it can be. They know, everyone who is watching today, that this is a character-building season – not a blip of one race, a full season,” Wolff added.

“We [kept] pushing so hard. The engine came along really well, and I’m proud of what we achieved there. On the chassis-side, there were more bad moments than good ones, but the good ones were spectacular, like a week ago [in Brazil], and they made us feel how good it can be. Now we are just pushing forward for next year. It’s rough, it’s bad, it’s okay to feel like this, but next year, we are back.”