Formula 1 title race is not over despite the end of Mercedes development

Wolff said on Saturday that, despite the tough championship battle with Red Bull, Mercedes “will continue to adhere to our principle of investing our resources by 2022” with regard to its development plans.

Max Verstappen scored a commanding victory for Red Bull at the Styrian Grand Prix on Sunday, leading every single lap as the team clinched their fourth win in a row.

Lewis Hamilton was overheard on team radio asking Mercedes what he could do to close the gap on Verstappen and said after the race that it was “impossible” to keep up as he fell 17 seconds behind his late pit stop, to get the fastest lap.

Hamilton also said Mercedes would “need to find an accomplishment” and “need an upgrade somehow” in order to lead the battle at Red Bull.

But after the race at Sky Sports F1, Wolff said it was “the first race in eight years where you just lack the pace, where you can see that we stopped developing for this year because we believe in the next few years “. are so important to get it right ”.

In a later media discussion, Wolff admitted that it was a “very, very delicate decision” not to develop the Mercedes W12 any further, but considered it important to weigh up the advantages for the new regulatory cycle from 2022 onwards.

“We have new regulations, a completely different car concept, not only for next year, but also for the coming years, and you have to choose the right balance,” said Wolff.

“Pretty much everyone will be in the car next year. Some may still bring things with them. Red Bull brought trucks with new parts on Thursday and Friday.

“And to be fair, it’s a strategy that is proving to be successful, because today they are simply in a league of their own when it comes to car speed.”

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In Red Bull’s most recent series, the team gained a 40-point lead at the top of the constructors’ championship and is thus at the top of both tables for the first time since 2013.

But Wolff emphasized that the title race was far from over. Red Bull’s development will end at some point and there is still a lot to optimize.

“The championship is not only played with adding aerodynamic parts, because at this point in time those like Red Bull, who are still adding parts, have to change the whole development to the next year,” said Wolff. “That means that the overall utilization of the car around the setup, the set-up work, the tires and the optimization of our driving style will be a very, very important part.

“It wouldn’t make sense to bet a week or two [or] a month back to the current car because the profits were nowhere near the profits we are making on the 2022 car.

“But that’s far from over. We had a very difficult weekend here in Austria, with no weapons in our armory to win this race fair and straight. But we will win races this season, take pole position and fight for every single result. “

When asked whether Hamilton had entered into the plan in light of his post-race comment about the need for an upgrade, Wolff replied: “The driver will always struggle with whatever he has.

“We’ve had this interview before, and it’s actually a very rational decision. The upgrades you bring with you wouldn’t close the deficit, the aerodynamic deficit, of the order that these new aero rules cost us. Fact.

“As I said, they will stop aero development at some point because it would be dangerous for the championship next year to lose the championship next year.

“So the fight is still in full swing. That wasn’t our best track in the past and it wasn’t today. [It] does not mean that we have no more weapons in our armory. “