Wolff: We will soon know where we stand

The Mercedes team is intensively preparing for the coming season and leader Toto Wolff shared his expectations ahead of the first stage of the championship.

Toto Wolff: “The new season brings new opportunities, so we are happy to be back in contention and ready to take on all the challenges that will inevitably come with it.

In the previous two seasons we did not approach the first race in the best shape. This was due to the inherent characteristics of the W13 and W14 cars, and it often turned out that their potential was not easy to realize. The cars were not very stable, so the main goal in preparation for the new season was clear: we need to create a stable platform, ensure that the car’s reactions are predictable and the drivers can attack continuously.

It is also important that we can effectively upgrade the chassis throughout the year based on the real results we will show on the track.

The first two rounds of the season will allow us to better understand the characteristics of the W15 and check how well we did. However, after the tests we can draw some first conclusions. They consist in the fact that the drivers are more satisfied with the balance of the car. The chassis performs largely as we would expect, and the way the car behaves on the track matches what we saw in the simulator. All this is encouraging.

During the tests we tried to get to know the car as best as possible and now all our attention must be focused on preparing for the first race weekend of the season. It looks like Red Bull is still ahead, but there will be a fierce rivalry between the teams behind them. We will soon understand what position we are in. The goal is to try to close the gap with the leaders. In any case, everyone at Mercedes is ready to take on this challenge.

There is a long season ahead, in which there will be successes, but also failures. However, this is why we love racing and we really want to get to the start as soon as possible.”