The ‘advantage’ Toto Wolff thinks Mercedes could have over F1 rival Red Bull
Red Bull were hit with a $7m fine and a 10 percent reduction on aerodynamic development time for a 12-month period, taking their permitted allocation down from 70 percent to 63 percent for the 2023 F1 season.
The impact of the punishment has been the subject of intense debate, with Red Bull team principal Christian Horner and 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Max Verstappen even appearing to be on168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史: different pages.
“I think they [Red Bull] have done a very good job last year in having a car out there that was half a second or more quicker than anyone else,” Wolff told media, including mahbx.com, at the 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:launch of Mercedes W14 chall💯enger.
“The lack of wind tunnဣel time is certainly not great for them, [a🥀nd it could be] an advantage for us this season.”
However, Wolff stressed that an efficient organisation like Red Bull should be able to limit the damage of such a penalty.🐲
“B𝓰ut if you have an efficient machine, you can certainly compensate for that, or large parts of it,” he explained.
“So, long-term, [it’s] good for us, but we’ve been in that situation - obviously𓂃 without a penalty - so we won and had less wind tunnel time for everyone else for the last two seasons.
“It’s going to certainly bite them a bit, but if they are e🦄fficient as anꦬ organisation – which they’ve demonstrated – it’s not going to be big.”
Merꦺcedes are hoping their brand-new W14 car will prope🌄l them back into title contention this season after slipping behind Red Bull and Ferrari in F1’s pecking order during a challenging 2022.
At the launch of RB19 earlier this month, Verstappen named 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Mercedes as the biggest threat to Red Bull in 2023.
Asked about the prospect of another title battle between Verstappen and168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史: Lewis Hamilton, Wolff said: “We saw very positive commᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚents from the other teams that we ar🦩e going to be right there.
“But we 🍬need to prove that ourselves that weꩲ are taking the right decisions and I would like to have a fight in the front there, not only the top thee teams but maybe one of the others can join us there.
“It would be good for For𒆙m🐲ula 1 and that’s what makes it so enjoyable.”
Lewis regularly attends Grands Prix for mahbx.com around the world. Often reporting on tꦦhe action from the ground, Lewis tells the stories of the people who matter in the sport.
