Toto Wolff has described 2022 as a "character-building year" for Mercedes after a poor Abu Dhabi Grand Prix ended the Formula 1 season. Mercedes only secured one race win – through George Russell in Brazil – as Lewis Hamilton's streak came to an end after 15 seasons of at least one race win. The W13 machine has been affected by porpoising and a fundamental floor issue while also battling being too draggy. Mercedes finished in third place in the Constructors', their worst result since sixth in 2012, and Wolff was keen to use the lessons learned from the year going forward.
Wolff on Mercedes' 2022
"First of all, we're going to put these cars in reception [at] Brackley and Brixworth to remind us every single day, how difficult it can be," Wolff explained to Sky Sports F1. "This is a character-building season, not a blip for the race but for the full season. "But we kept pushing so hard, the engine came along really well and I'm proud what we achieved there. "And on the chassis side, there were bad moments then good ones, but the good ones were spectacular, like a week ago [in Brazil]. "It made us feel how good it can be and now we're just pushing forward for next year. "It's bad and it's okay to feel like this, but next year we are back."
Wolff on Abu Dhabi GP
Hamilton retired at the Yas Marina Circuit with a hydraulic failure in the closing laps as Russell came home in fifth place, 35.8 seconds behind race winner Max Verstappen. Wolff felt that the Grand Prix summed up Mercedes' troubled campaign. "That was really not good – all the mistakes you can make on [the] car was there," he explained. "One breaking down and the other running out of tyres is a precise summary of the season. "We cooked the tyres in the first few laps when we attacked. "We knew that Abu Dhabi was going to be a difficult one for the car, so at least the correlation is good. "Brazil was just spectacular – dominating from the beginning to the end and [at] least we will tick a box with a race win."
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