Mercedes aim to recover from ‘character-building’ season

Mercedes Formula One boss Toto Wolff expressed confidence that the team will be back to their best after a rollercoaster campaign under F1’s new technical regulations.

“[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,” Wolff told Sky Sports.

“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.

“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.”

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Mercedes entered 2022 as the reigning eight-time constructors’ champions but fall behind Red Bull and Ferrari in the pecking order.

“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,” Wolff added. “They know, everyone who is watching today, that this is a character-building season – not a blip of one race, a full season.

“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.”