Will Gray
Sunday, June 27, 2021 4:39 PM – Updated: 4:50 PM
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has announced that the reigning Formula 1 champion has already “stopped” developing this year’s car after making a strategic decision to focus on the brand new machines for the next season.
Formula 1 regulations are changing dramatically for 2022, forcing all teams to make some tough decisions about when to focus on the long-term future.
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After Max Verstappen benefited from the new developments on his Red Bull and finished well ahead of Mercedes-Lewis Hamilton at the Styrian Grand Prix on Sunday, Wolff said: “It was the first race in eight years in which you simply lacked the pace. “.
“We stopped development for this year because we think the next few years are so important to stay right and they keep adding something. There are tracks that come with the aero parts and all credit for that strategy.
“You get the feeling that your performance on a new unit has consolidated your performance, so [we need to] Just bring our heads together to get the most out of the package we have and it’s far from over. ”
Mercedes has to “make history” to win the title
Wolff granted Red Bull the obvious car advantage, which means that his team now has a tough battle for the title ahead of them and that for many years it will not be certain whether the decision to forego this season for the future is correct is.
Title rival Red Bull has now won the last four races after he decided to further develop his car in order to finally end the seven-year-old driver and constructor domination of his rivals.
Wolff added: “Because of this strategic situation, it will certainly be very difficult for us to have a completely new car next year, with a different fuel, a different engine that will be homologated and frozen.
“The car is basically a completely different concept and you have to balance these two seasons against each other.
“Time will tell in history, if you look back five or ten years from now, whether it was the right decision or the wrong decision, but in any case this fight is not over yet.”
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