Mercedes motorsport director Toto Wolff says parent company Daimler understand that it will take time for the F1 team to deliver success – and as long as they’re on the right path, they will give them the required time.
Mercedes, which was born from the ashes of title-winning Brawn GP, hasn’t enjoyed much success in its first three years. However their fortunes look to be on the up with two pole positions and two podium finishes in the first four races.
Wolff warned that it will take time for the right people to be in the right place, but he and the team have Daimler’s backing.
“If we are perceived as a front-running team – among the top three, four teams – we will be given time,” he told BBC Sport.
“We need to be successful but Mercedes [a subsidiary of Daimler] understand you cannot build a winning team in a short time frame.
“It’s about putting together the right ingredients,” he explained.
“If you look at what has worked in the past, even Benetton, the glory days of Ferrari, the glory days of McLaren, you can see there was a group of people which could almost interact non-verbally with each other.
“They fitted them together, the engine was good, the driver was good, the chassis was solid.
“The management worked with each other, a good group of mechanics, a good group of engineers, good technical director, a creative mind in the design office and aero department and a good businessman and politician safeguarding all these guys from the nasty bits.
“And in order to put that together you need time.”
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