Toto Wolff refutes any possibility that Mercedes F1 will go the Red Bull Way in 2021

Red Bull and Mercedes are arch rivals on the F1 grid and both are trying to beat each other. On the opening weekend of the season in Bahrain, Red Bull was the favorite to win when Verstappen took pole for Sunday’s race. While Mercedes won the race, it was clear that Red Bull had the better car. However, Toto Wolff has stated that Mercedes will not copy its rival’s rake dynamic just to get ahead.

The Brackley-based squad won in Bahrain thanks to a bit of luck and some brilliant drivers from Sir Lewis Hamilton. The knight had an intense battle with Red Bull’s child prodigy Verstappen in the final laps of the race. But it was the seven-time champion who came out on top.

Formula 1 F1 – Bahrain Grand Prix – Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain – Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas in action during the REUTERS / Hamad I Mohammed race

Toto Wolff says Mercedes won’t copy Red Bull just to stay ahead

The Austrian boss said: “First of all, I don’t think the rake is the only unique effect we could suffer from. These news tires that we will be driving in 2021 [are also a factor]. Our analysis showed that the higher rake concept lost less downforce than the lower rake concept, and in the last year of these regulations we were unable to repeat the concept of Red Bull and some of the other teams racing. ”

Wolff added: “It is not physically possible. We haven’t been able to do our suspensions and adjustments the way Red Bull does, so we have to make the most of it and tune the car to what we have available. “

Formula 1 F1 – Bahrain Grand Prix – Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain – March 26, 2021 Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff with Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner during the FIA ​​/ Handout press conference via REUTERS

“It may be harder for us to regain some of the lost downforce, but so far I’ve seen and I hope we can have a really tough fight [with Red Bull], ” he concluded.

The Silver Arrows are well aware of the Raging Bull’s pace

The Bahrain Grand Prix was one of the most exciting races we’ve seen lately. Wolff has stated that the route has never been Milton-Keynes’ greatest strength.

Wolff said: “Bahrain wasn’t always the strongest race for Red Bull and they weren’t very good outside the blocks either [at the start of seasons] and this weekend shows that this will no longer be the case in 2021. So I have no doubt that they are extremely hard to beat. They are the ones who lead the pack. “

Formula 1 F1 – Bahrain Grand Prix – Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain – Mercedes Lewis Hamilton and Red Bulls Max Verstappen in action during the REUTERS / Hamad I Mohammed race

“The racing gods were on our side, and that’s why [we won]. It’s not that we suddenly found a great performance. It was a combination of a great strategy, a solid racing car and luck in the end, ”concluded Wolff.

The next stop is Imola for the Italian Grand Prix. Can Mercedes manage to keep its rivals in the rear-view mirror and win the championship, or will the Austrian team manage to gain the lead in the Brackley squad? We’ll get our answers in a week.

also read: Mercedes in the same boat as Williams, George Russell closes after the F1 fights in Bahrain