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Wolff on 2022 season: 'Experienced difficult situations before'

Wolff on 2022 season: 'Experienced difficult situations before'

07-12-2022 17:50 Last update: 08-12-2022 09:13
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GPblog.com

Toto Wolff, in the latest Beyond the Grid podcast candidly about how he experienced this difficult year for Mercedes. With the previous year's controversy in Abu Dhabi still fresh in their minds, the German racing stable began 2022 with a major challenge. The W13 proved not to be strong after the rule changes and problems like porpoising made it even harder for the team to compete for podiums and wins.

At the start of the 2022 Formula 1 season, many teams suffered from porpoising, or bouncing of the car due to the aerodynamic effect of the floor. The German racing stable's W13 was in the worst shape. Mercedes did not come close to a podium and Lewis Hamilton and George Russell crossed the finish line at times literally in pain. The problems were solved after a new technical rule, but Mercedes still lacked some speed compared to Red Bull Racing. Russell managed just one win for the team this year, where his teammate failed to do so.

Despite facing quite a few challenges last season, Wolff himself says it was not very difficult to deal with. "Because I have experienced difficult situations more often in my life," the Austrian begins in the podcast. "The end of last year was more difficult because that happened beyond our control. This year you have to be honest with yourself, because you missed the mark."

Expectations

Mercedes had managed to win the constructors' title every year since 2014, but this year, with the new regulations it was a clear turning point. "When you lose, it feels like a personal downfall," Wolff explains. He explains that brain sort of protects him anyway and regulates expectations. "If you are half a second behind one weekend and a quarter the following week, your brain says that's quite fine. But it's not."