Toto Wolff has suggested it is “too early” in the Formula 1 season for Mercedes to pick a title favourite out of their drivers.
The new regulations have seen a resurgence of the Silver Arrows. The team that struggled during F1’s ground-effects era now finds itself at the top of the pecking order, with 19-year-old Kimi Antonelli leading the charge. Heading into Zandvoort, the Italian remains the championship leader ahead of Lewis Hamilton and team-mate George Russell.
For Antonelli, the season has been a breakthrough. The Mercedes driver has secured six race wins, with five in succession, and three further podiums. With a gap of two race wins to Hamilton in second, many have started questioning whether Mercedes would begin to prioritise the 19-year-old in the title battle.
But Mercedes Team Principal Wolff emphasised that the season is too long and unpredictable to favour one driver over another. Particularly in a season where reliability has been a major concern for the team.
“It’s too early to say,” Wolff explained. “I’m superstitious, even though the gap is 50 points. There are so many races to go, a DNF or two can just swing [the championship] massively, and we’ve not been great on reliability.
“So, we just have to continue to maximise every single day from Friday onwards to Sunday, and then hopefully at the end that will be enough.”
Could the Cost Cap pose an issue for Mercedes?
Despite being the strongest team on the grid throughout the season, Mercedes has struggled significantly with reliability. Both Antonelli and Russell have experienced technical failures that resulted in race retirements in the first half of the season. Consequently, both drivers have burned through their pool of extra power units, invoking an ‘inevitable’ 10-place grid penalty if they exceed the engine allocation.
But with this comes the added pressure of the tight cost cap. As F1 is set to return to Malaysia later this year, Wolff was asked whether this would affect the team’s already tight budget.
That all has an influence,” Wolff explained when asked about potential additional costs of the season impacting the team.
“Obviously, going to Malaysia is fantastic, but we also have to still monitor the costs that we have as a team.
“It’s not related to Malaysia, it’s more about when can we bring the upgrades – but we are.”
As F1 returns this weekend in Zandvoort, Mercedes sits at the top of the championship, 72 points clear of Ferrari in second. As the series heads into its crucial rounds, the Brackley-based team aim to optimise its weekends to retain its championship lead.
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