McLaren illegal? A matter of milimiters for Mercedes CEO Wolff
Updated: 16:43, 23 May 2025
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A filmmaker with a soft spot for Ronnie Peterson, Gilles Villeneuve, Mika Hakkinen and above all, Tazio Nuvolari and Ayrton Senna, is also a diehard Formula One fan since the age of 4 (mid-90's). An avid researcher of the past of Grand Prix Racing since before it was even named F1, and with a thirst for knowledge of the ins and outs of the actuality of the sport, as well as for the technical aspects that define it, is a member of GPblog since 2023, where he has put his love of racing to good use.
For Toto Wolff, McLaren's performance is due to the on-the-limit approach they have taken with the MCL39, but such distinct philosophy does not constitute cheating, says the Austrian.
McLaren's performance, particularly when it comes to their tyre longevity has been a much discussed topic as of lat, with Red Bull Racing allegedly investigating into McLaren's cooling efficiency with thermal cameras.
The FIA is said to have issued several clarifications ahead of the Imola Grand Prix in the form of revised Technical Directives, the race where Max Verstappen's Red Bull car had better tyre deg than the mighty McLarens.
Now the question was put forward to Mercedes' team principal Toto Wolff. Does he believe that McLaren's brake cooling is legal? Speaking to media like GPblog at Monaco the team principal answered.
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Mercedes takes it on the chin and Aston Martin sets on a mission
Reiterating his previous statements after the Miami Grand Prix, Wolff expressed an inequivocal vote of confidence in Mercedes' customer team.
"I think we've said that you've got to take it on the chin if somebody has done some good engineering. There's a technical team around, Andrea Stella (McLaren's team principal, ed.), and these guys, we have no doubt there is a milimeter of being not in a legal place. So, you've got to look and learn and try to understand."
Aston Martin's team principal also spoke his piece on the subject. "I guess we've all experienced success and we know that it's very rare that there's a silver bullet for good performance."
"There's attention to detail everywhere and I think that's McLaren's secret at the moment. They've just chased everything really well and pulled it together. So that's the mission that we're taking on to catch up."
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