Mercedes from 2014 had ‘the best of times’ but now it’s the ‘worst of times’ as in the third year of the new ground effect car design regulations the team is clearly behind Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari. Team boss Toto Wolff joined the Mercedes AMG F1 outfit in January 2013 as the team was preparing for the big engine regulations changes in 2014.

Wolff was thought to be winding down his tenure as the team principal when last season he missed two races in Japan and Qatar as he recovered from knee surgery. His deputy Jerome D’’Ambrosia stood in for the weekends with the team’s Bradley Lord taking on the media responsibility.

 

 

 

Wolff wants to drop to just 15 races a year

While these absences were explained by Toto’s medical condition, the Mercedes boss has stated more than once his ideal number of races where he is in attendance is around 15 as the F1 calendar has continued to expand. Toto was set to miss the recent Japanese Grand Prix but a combination of D’Ambrosia tending his resignation (he is leaving for Ferrari) and the poorly performing W15 car saw Wolff change his mind believing the team needed his presence and leadership.

Toto is team principle, CEO and 33% shareholder in the F1 team and he signed a new three year contract back in January this year. At the time he made it clear he was happy to hang up his boots as team principal: “I’m not going to try to hang on to a position that I think somebody is going to do better than me,” Wolff said.

“I make sure that I have people around who can tell me otherwise. In the end the three of us decided (co shareholders Ineos and Mercedes Benz): ‘Let’s do it again’.”

With Mercedes now behind the eight ball for the third year in a row but now its is not just Red Bull ahead of them in the title race, but Ferrari and McLaren too are regularly qualifying and finishing the races ahead of the former world champions. Wolff was asked again in Monaco whether it was time to find another team principal more capable of sorting out their problems than the Austrian financier.

Marko: ‘As bad as its been for sometime’

 

 

 

Mercedes looking to identify Toto replacement

“I have always been very self-critical and introspective,” Wolff told the PA news agency. “Is this what I am good at? Am I working in something that I understand and I feel I can contribute?

“I ask myself that question all the time, for 30 years and the decision I have taken is that I am a co-owner of this business and I am going to stay a co-owner of this business, whether I am team principal or CEO or chairman.”

Wolff continues to explain how in his life before F1, he has identified individuals who can do what he did but better, humbly observing it could be “because they have more energy, more intelligence, more knowledge, or more compassion.”

“That day will come but jointly (with co-owners’ Ineos and Mercedes-Benz AG) but we have not identified who the next person will be.” Mercedes have been suffering something of a ‘brain drain’ in recent months with Luca Serra also quitting for Ferrari from his role as the team’s performance  director. 

Marko confirms talks with Alonso

 

 

 

Wolff future uncertain despite 3 year contract

Toto admits despite his wish to reduce his presence at the F1 races, the timing is not right just now so he will continue until his replacement is found.

“That day will come but jointly (with co-owners’ Ineos and Mercedes-Benz AG) we have not identified who the next person will be. I still love it. Maybe one day I wake up and I don’t love it.”

Toto admits there is always the risk he may suddenly be incapable of leading the team as he does now: “There might be a stone falling on my head and I am not team principal anymore. But this is the destiny I am choosing with my co-shareholders.

“I have signed a new three-year contract and I am going to be the most permanent unless I die, but maybe in various roles in the top management.”

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Hamilton has best day of his season

Mercedes have won just one race since the epic battle they had with Red Bull back in 2021. George Russell in his first year with the team won the Brazilian Grand Prix 1.529 seconds ahead of his world champion team mate Lewis Hamilton who will drive for Ferrari in 2025.

Hamilton’s winless streak now stretches from the infamous race in the desert of Abu Dhabi (2021) now stretches some 51 Grand Prix in length as the Monaco weekend looms large. Surprisingly Mercedes have been extremely competitive in Free Practice 1 and 2 in the principality with Hamilton topping the time sheets in FP1 and coming second in FP2.

Meanwhile Red Bull are struggling again with Max Verstappen failing to make the top 10 fastest times in the first Friday track session. Things improved in the afternoon as the world champion finishes the session in P4 but was a startling half a second slower than Charles Leclerc who was quickest.

Marko reveals 2025 driver line up

 

 

 

Lewis opts to not take the upgrade

In an interesting development, the team brought a revised front wing to Monaco but they had time to build just one which George Russell will run on his W15 car.  Russell is ahead of Hamilton in the driver title race, but the team stated this was not the reason he got the single new upgrade.

McLaren had just one set of upgrades inn Miami and they gave them to their driver who was ahead in the championship – Lando Norris. But in Mercedes case Lewis Hamilton expressed his concern that he might hit the wall during Saturday qualifying requiring him to switch to the unfamiliar older front wing.

Monaco has the highest probability of this happening of any circuit on the calendar. Further Parc ferme rules forbid teams from altering their car in any way from the start of qualifying onwards. And reverting to the old front wing (with only a single new one available) would mean dropping to the back of the grid.

Key Red Bull figure signs new contract as Newey departs

 

 

 

Analysis: Where and how Verstappeng is using in Monaco

After having the most dominant season an F1 driver has ever had, Max Verstappen is beginning to struggle with his 2024 RB20. Coincidentally the weekend that Adrian Newey announced he was stepping back from the Red Bull F1 team Max looked exposed in Imola as he failed to top the time sheets in any of the practice sessions.

Only a lucky tow from Nico Hulkenberg during his final push lap in qualifying saw Verstappen claim pole position ahead of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris – but by tiny margins. Now this weekend in Monaco once again the RB20 even in the hands of Max looks anything but a race winner…. READ MORE